Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Two of fall's best flavors, pumpkin and cheesecake, swirl together in these scrumptious dessert bars. Smooth and creamy and warmly spiced, the marbled filling sits atop a buttery graham cracker crust sliced into bars for a bite-size indulgence.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham crackers (about 13 sheets)
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Cheesecake Filling
- 16 ounces full fat cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla pure
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour unbleached
Pumpkin Swirl
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang for ease of removal.
- Pulse graham crackers in a food processor for 15 seconds until fine crumbs form.
- Add melted butter and sugar and pulse a few more times until combined.
- Add graham cracker mixture to the prepared baking pan and press until an even layer forms. Take care to avoid overpacking crumbs.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Cheesecake Filling
- Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and lump free. Approximately 3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined.
- Add flour until incorporated then set aside while you prepare pumpkin swirl.
Pumpkin Swirl
- In a large bowl, whisk all pumpkin swirl ingredients until combined.
- Add 3/4 cup of the cheesecake filling to the pumpkin filling and stir until well mixed.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 320 degrees.
- Spread 1 cup of cheesecake filling onto warm graham cracker crust and level with a spatula.
- Drop dollops of pumpkin swirl filling on cheesecake layer in a random pattern. Alternate pumpkin swirl dollops with dollops of remaining cheesecake filling then gently swirl the two mixtures together using a chopstick or wooden skewer to create a marbled pattern.
- Bake for 1 hour. Cheesecake will be slightly jiggly in the center, but will firm up as it cools. Do not overbake.
- Remove pan from oven and place on a wire rack to cool at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Cover and place baking pan in the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 3 hours. Remove bars from pan using parchment to lift them out then slice with a sharp knife, wiping blade between cuts for clean lines.
- Store leftover bars covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.