Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

We love pumpkin season ver much and one of our favorite things we make every year are our Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars! Our recipe produces the creamiest cheesecake filling with a good dose of pumpkin spiced flavor. We paired ours with a chocolate crust, which we think goes so well with pumpkin and cheesecake!

How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Process

CRUST

1. Pour wafers and cinnamon into a bowl. Stir in melted butter until fully incorporated.
2. Press mixture into a 9”x12” parchment lined baking dish and refrigerate until ready to use.

CHEESECAKE FILLING

3. Place cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat together with paddle attachment (you can also use an electric hand mixer).
4. Add egg, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add sour cream, flour and milk and stir together until no lumps remain. Fold in vanilla extract and zest until fully incorporated. Set mixture aside.

PUMPKIN FILLING

5. Place all pumpkin ingredients into a bowl and stir together until fully combined.
6. Add 1 cup of the cheesecake filling to the pumpkin mixture and gently stir together until fully incorporated.

ASSEMBLE

7. Preheat oven to 250˚F. Pour cheesecake filling over the chocolate crust.
8. Dollop spoonfuls of pumpkin filling all over the top of the cheesecake filling.

9. Using a toothpick or two, gently dip ¼ inch of the tip into the mixture and swirl all over the surface, creating a marbling pattern. “Marble” the surface as much or as little as you want.

10. Place cheesecake in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheesecake is set, but still wobbly in the center. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool completely. Refrigerate until chill, about 1 hour. Run a small knife along the edges of the cheesecake that touch the pan directly, then carefully take the sides of parchment and lift the cheesecake from the pan. Cut into small pumpkin cheesecake bars and serve.

Tips for Making the BEST Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

• Don’t over-bake the bars! It’ll cause the surface to crack as it cools and the filling won’t be silky smooth! It’s important that the center of the filling is still loose and wobbly when it’s pulled from the oven.
• We love using the Nabisco Chocolate Wafers for the crust, but if you’re unable to find them, using Oreos (with the creme filling removed) is just fine!
• Firmly pressing the crust into the pan and chilling the crust before adding the filling ingredients will both greatly help crust from crumbling into the filling.
• Since this isn’t a thick cheesecake bar it’s important to just drag the toothpick near the surface of the filling to achieve the marble pattern. Inserting the toothpick too deeply into the filling will cause the toothpick to drag into the pumpkin cheesecake bars crust.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions

Make Ahead

Our pumpkin cheesecake bars can be made up to 3 days in advance (for best quality). Once baked, allow cheesecake to fully cool at room temperature. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to slice and serve.

Freezing

Once baked, allow cheesecake to fully cool at room temperature. Life cheesecake from pan and set onto a baking sheet. Freeze cheesecake in freezer until fully frozen, a couple hours.

Remove cheesecake from freezer and peel away parchment. Tightly wrap cheesecake in two layers of plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. (this freezing method can be done to the whole cheesecake or wrapped in individual pieces)

Thawing

To thaw, unwrap cheesecake completely and thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour or in the refrigerator overnight. Serve.

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