Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
If you love our family’s Walnut Pumpkin Pie recipe, these Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars might just also steal your heart!
Why You Need To Make These Delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars!
- It’s the perfect fall dessert! – It checks every box. Pumpkin flavor, creamy texture, sweet pecan topping… doesn’t just reading that make you want to enjoy a bar with some hot tea and a cozy blanket?
- It’s great for gatherings! – This is one of my favorite pumpkin recipes to serve as a Thanksgiving dessert. It’s a huge hit!
- It’s easy to make! – Traditional cheesecake is a tad bit involved. There’s the springform pan, the water bath… it’s fiddly. These creamy pumpkin cheesecake bars let you enjoy all of the deliciousness of cheesecake, without any of those extra steps.
Ingredients Needed For These Pumpkin Bars
You’ll need quite a few ingredients for these creamy pumpkin pie cheesecake bars, but trust me – it’s worth it!
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Crust
- 1/4 Cup of Butter – You’ll use this to make a classic graham cracker crust, so use unsalted butter and melt it.
- 7 Graham Cracker Sheets – These will need to be ground up into a fine powder. You can do this using a blender, food processor, or the classic standby of a rolling pin and a Ziploc bag. For a flavor twist, use cinnamon graham crackers and make a cinnamon graham cracker crust!
- 3 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar – Brown sugar adds sweetness like regular sugar, but also a deep molasses flavor that can’t be beat.
Cheesecake
- 2 8 Ounce Packages of Cream Cheese – For best results, full-fat cream cheese and set the packages out to soften up to room temperature. This will make it much easier to cream together when it comes time to make your creamy cheesecake filling.
- 1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoons of White Sugar – The white granulated sugar in this cheesecake recipe will give you the perfect amount of sweetness.
- 2 Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk – The eggs need to incorporate fully into the cheesecake batter, so set them out on the counter. Room temperature eggs come together much more evenly.
- 1/2 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice – This splash of acidity really helps balance out all the sweetness.
- 1/2 Tablespoon of Vanilla Extract – Can you even make a baked good without a little bit of vanilla?
- 1/2 Cup of Sour Cream – This adds a great boost of creaminess to the cheesecake layer.
- 7 Ounces of Pumpkin Puree – Double check your can, because pumpkin pie filling is not the same thing as pumpkin puree, and the cans almost always look similar and are located on the same shelf in the grocery store.
- 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon – It’s time for the warm spices! Here’s one…
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg – …and another (Hint – freshly grated nutmeg is a whole new flavor from regular ground nutmeg! Try it!)…
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Ginger – …and another…
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Allspice – last one! By the way, if you don’t have all of these spices separately, you can use premixed pumpkin pie spice in a pinch.
Topping
- 1/2 Cup of Pecans – You can buy chopped pecans ready for you at the store, or you can chop up your own! Pecans definitely taste best in this crumb topping, but you can use walnuts if that’s what you have on hand.
- 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract – Vanilla just adds a depth and warmth you can’t replicate any other way.
- 1/2 Cup of Flour – This keeps the crumble topping from becoming too much of a sugar crust.
- 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar – The molasses in brown sugar perfectly fits the flavors of this time of year.
- 1/4 Cup of White Sugar – More sweetness!
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Cinnamon – Here comes the ground cinnamon and other fall spices!
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
- 1/8 Teaspoon of Salt – Just a pinch, to balance out all the sweetness.
- 1/4 Cup of Butter – This butter should be soft, but it doesn’t need to be melted. Use unsalted butter, or else omit the salt as a separate ingredient.
How To Make Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Get your oven and baking dish ready! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a 9 x 9-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Turn your graham crackers into graham cracker crumbs using your desired method, then add the brown sugar and melted butter. Stir until well combined.
- Press the buttery graham cracker crust into the bottom of the pan, making sure to fill the corners well.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool completely.
- While the crust is baking, use an electric mixer to cream together the softened cream cheese and white sugar. Beat them until they’re light and fluffy! Then slowly add both eggs and the egg yolk, one at a time.
- Use the hand mixer to mix in the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Here’s the first layer of your cheesecake!
- Pour two cups of this initial cheesecake filling on to the top of your prepared pan with the graham cracker crust. Use an offset spatula to spread it evenly, then pop the pan in the freezer to quickly set in preparation for the next layer.
- Add the pure pumpkin puree and all of those fall spices to the remaining cheesecake mixture and mix until well combined.
- Pour the pumpkin layer of cheesecake filling on top of the set plain cheesecake filling, spreading it evenly.
- Bake the two layers of cheesecake for 30 minutes, at the same oven temperature as the crust.
- Meanwhile, use a food processor or blender to combine the pecans, vanilla, flour, white sugar, brown sugar, spices, and butter until a soft crumble topping forms.
- After the cheesecake is finished baking, coat it with the pecan crumble and then place it back in the oven for another 45 minutes.
- When these 45 minutes are up, the cheesecake should have firm edges, but a jiggly center. Turn the oven off, open the oven door a crack, and let the residual warmth in the oven continue to bake the cheesecake bars for another hour.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for at least 6 hours prior to serving.
- For a clean cut when serving, slice with a large knife dipped in hot water. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream!
Storing Leftover Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars
It’s easy to store any leftovers of this perfect fall dessert!
Use a sharp knife to cut the cheesecake into bars, and take each bar out of the pan.
Then, store them in an airtight container, making sure that the individual bars don’t touch each other.
Otherwise, they’ll stick!
The bars can be stored in the fridge for five days.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
These creamy pumpkin cheesecake bars let you enjoy all of the deliciousness of cheesecake, without all of the complicated steps involved!
Equipment
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Dish
Ingredients
Crust
- 1/4 Cup Butter
- 7 Graham Cracker Sheets
- 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
Cheesecake
- 2 8 Ounce Packages of Cream Cheese
- 1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoons of White Sugar
- 2 Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk
- 1/2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
- 7 Ounces Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ginger
- 1/4 Teaspoon Allspice
Topping
- 1/2 Cup Pecans
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 Cup Flour
- 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup White Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 Cup Butter
Instructions
- Get your oven and baking dish ready! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a 9 x 9-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Turn your graham crackers into graham cracker crumbs using your desired method, then add the brown sugar and melted butter. Stir until well combined.
- Press the buttery graham cracker crust into the bottom of the pan, making sure to fill the corners well.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool completely.
- While the crust is baking, use an electric mixer to cream together the softened cream cheese and white sugar. Beat them until they’re light and fluffy! Then slowly add both eggs and the egg yolk, one at a time.
- Use the hand mixer to mix in the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Here’s the first layer of your cheesecake!
- Pour two cups of this initial cheesecake filling on to the top of your prepared pan with the graham cracker crust. Use an offset spatula to spread it evenly, then pop the pan in the freezer to quickly set in preparation for the next layer.
- Add the pure pumpkin puree and all of those fall spices to the remaining cheesecake mixture and mix until well combined.
- Pour the pumpkin layer of cheesecake filling on top of the set plain cheesecake filling, spreading it evenly.
- Bake the two layers of cheesecake for 30 minutes, at the same oven temperature as the crust.
- Meanwhile, use a food processor or blender to combine the pecans, vanilla, flour, white sugar, brown sugar, spices, and butter until a soft crumble topping forms.
- After the cheesecake is finished baking, coat it with the pecan crumble and then place it back in the oven for another 45 minutes.
- When these 45 minutes are up, the cheesecake should have firm edges, but a jiggly center. Turn the oven off, open the oven door a crack, and let the residual warmth in the oven continue to bake the cheesecake bars for another hour.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for at least 6 hours prior to serving.
- For a clean cut when serving, slice with a large knife dipped in hot water. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream!
Another Delicious Pumpkin Recipe
If your family loves pumpkin desserts, you might want to try this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread recipe you can use for a large loaf or muffins!
