Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Glaze + FREE Printable Gift Tags

In the past I've made Strawberry Brownies for Valentine's Day.  They were such a big hit and so simple, I decided to adapt the recipe for a quick and tasty Easter treat!  Carrot Cake Bars are so easy.  Just 3 ingredients!  Start with a boxed carrot cake mix and by adjusting the amount of oil and eggs, the result is a thick, rich bar full of carrot and spice flavor!  Now I LOVE cream cheese frosting, especially the one on My Mom's Carrot Cake, but I wanted these bars to have more of a glaze instead of a thick, fluffy frosting.  Mainly because I'm giving them in cute little Easter bags.  If you're planning to serve them on a platter where that delightful frosting won't get squished, feel free to frost them instead.  Since I'm giving these away to family and friends as a little gift for Easter, I created some cute little tags reminiscent of vintage carrot seed packets.  They are included below if you'd like to print them for gift giving too!  

Only 3 ingredients plus a quick glaze!

Bake the Bars until golden. 

While the bars are baking, whisk together
the cream cheese glaze.

Spread the glaze onto the bars
while they are still warm.

Cut into squares and share for gift giving!

Click on the image to enlarge.
Right click and save to your computer.
Open with the software of your choice
and print onto cardstock.These images are my exclusive artwork.
Please be courteous when using these printables 
and remember they are for personal use only.

Happy Easter!

Carrot Cake Bars

1 box carrot cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Cream Cheese Glaze
4 ounces cream cheese, really softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, really softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13-inch pan and set aside.  With a mixer, combine cake mix, oil and eggs until well-mixed. Spread batter evenly into pan.  (The batter will be very thick and sticky.  I usually spray a spatula with PAM to help it spread easier.) Bake approximately 14-16 minutes, or until edges start to barely brown.   While the bars are baking, whisk together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar.  Add the milk to create a thin glaze consistency.  Spread the glaze onto the warm bars and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
*NOTE: The brand of cake mix I purchased included a package of dried carrots and raises.  I omitted this packet from the recipe, but I did save a few of the dried carrot pieces as garnish.

Prep Time:  Approximately 5 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 16 minutes