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Pumpkin cheesecake bars

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

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  • Author: Cosette's Kitchen
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 24 bars 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Description

I've turned one of my most beloved Pumpkin Cheesecakes into these easy to make Cheesecake Bars! Same great flavor, half the effort and stress of making a traditional cheesecake. The perfect make ahead dessert.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Gingersnap Crust

  • 375 grams of crushed gingersnap cookies (about 2 3/4 cups of crumbs)
  • 140 grams of unsalted butter, 10 Tablespoons, melted

Topping

  • 85 grams unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons
  • 115 grams chopped walnuts, 1 cup
  • 200 grams brown sugar, 1 cup packed
  • 45 grams flour, 1/3 cup

Cheesecake Filling

  • 24 ounces of plain cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 4 whole large eggs
  • 15 ounce can pure pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not filling - such as Libby's)
  • 185 grams brown sugar, 3/4 cup firmly packed
  • 60 ml heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup
  • 70 ml maple syrup, 1/4 cup
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice*
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*

Equipment

  • Food processor/hand or stand mixer
  • 9x13 baking dish
  • Parchment paper

Instructions

Gingersnap Crust

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Begin by placing your gingersnap cookies in the bowl of a food processor and pulsing until fine crumbles form. If you don't have a food processor, place cookies in a sealed ziplcok bag and begin crushing with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbles. Be sure your crumbles don't have any large chunks of cookie remaining.
  3. Melt your butter and combine with your gingersnap crumbs in a bowl until they are wet and sandy.
  4. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by placing a sheet of parchment, ensuring it covers the sides - pro tip, if your parchment paper is rolling, crumble it up, open and then attempt to lay.
  5. Pour your gingersnap butter mixture into prepared pan and using a glass bottom, begin pressing down until you have an even layer all the way through your baking pan.
  6. Bake the crust for 9 minutes, then remove and allow to cool.

Topping

  1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt your butter. Add in your walnuts, brown sugar and flour. Mix to combine.
  2. Set aside until ready to use.

Cheesecake Filling

  1. Decrease oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. In the bowl of your food processor (don't bother cleaning it from your crumbs) or hand/stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine your cheesecake ingredients.
  3. For best results, be sure cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature. 
  4. Combine everything and process on high speed for 1-2 minutes.
  5. Stop, scrape sides and ensure everything is combined well. You want to ensure your cream cheese mixture is smooth and silky.
  6. Pour your cheesecake mixture into your cooled gingersnap crust and place in preheated oven.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes.
  8. Remove after 30 minutes and add your topping, bake for another 25-30 minutes until cheesecake is set. It will have a bit of movement but a skewer will come out clean when inserted.
  9. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.
  10. Once fully cooled, cover and place in fridge for a minimum of 4 hours before slicing.
  11. Once ready to serve, cut into desired size squares, I prefer smaller cubes. 
  12. Tip: when cutting, wipe your knife after each cut for clean cuts. Remove first piece (which may need a little wiggling) then proceed to remove the rest of your bars. 
  13. Store in fridge up to a week or freeze, see notes in post.