• Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, stir the yellow cake mix and 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice together. Add the softened butter and egg and mix with an electric mixer until it comes together into a stiff dough, almost like cookie dough.
• Using wet fingers or a silicone spatula, evenly press the dough into the pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup of pumpkin puree, and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice together until smooth.
• Pour the pumpkin sweetened condensed milk mixture over the cake layer.
• Add the layers of nuts, chocolate chips, cranberries, and coconut in this order: pecans, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, and coconut.
• Use a fork to lightly press the coconut layer down into the sweetened condensed milk. This will help the toppings adhere together during baking.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the coconut is dark golden brown, the center is firm. It takes exactly 40 minutes in my oven, but yours may be different so start checking it a bit early.
• Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting. They are exceptional when warm — and still gooey and delicious when cool.

Storage & Freezing

• Store pumpkin bars with cake mix in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze these bars in a freezer-safe container or ziptop freezer bag.