Description
Creamy, spiced and swirled, these easy pumpkin cheesecake squares are the perfect fall dessert in bar form.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 whole graham cracker sheets (about 1 1/4 cups crumbs, or 128 grams)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 5 tablespoons (71 grams) butter, melted
- 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (Libby’s brand has the darkest orange color)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper in both directions to help remove the bars after baking.
- First, make the crust: in a food processor, add the 8 whole graham crackers, breaking them up as you add them. Place the lid on the food processor and pulse the graham crackers to start to break them down a bit. Add the sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and blend again to mix.
- Finally, add the melted butter and pulse until moist crumbs form and the crust ingredients are homogenous. Scrape the crumbs into a 8 or 9” square pan lined with parchment paper in both directions. Press them flat with the back of a measuring cup (it’s okay if the crust goes up the sides a bit).
- Bake the crust at 350 for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool while you make the filling.
- To make the filling: in a large bowl, add the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until very smooth and well-combined. Add the eggs and vanilla.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla, but use a low speed and try not to over-mix and whip too much air into the batter, or else the cheesecake can puff up in the oven and crack as it cools.
- Remove 1 cup of cheesecake batter and set it aside.
- To the rest of the cheesecake batter in the bowl, add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Beat just to combined.
- Pour the pumpkin cheesecake batter into the awaiting crust, and then use a spoon to dollop the reserved white cheesecake filling all over the surface. Use a knife or toothpick to swirl the two together.
- Bake at 350 for 38-41 minutes. The center can still be very slightly jiggly, but not overly wet. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour, and then remove from the pan and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving for nice, firm bars and even slices.
Notes
Chill the bars overnight before slicing for clean, bakery-style squares.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 206
- Sugar: 19g
- Sodium: 133mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 0mg