Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

These easy pumpkin cheesecake bars are smooth, creamy, and filled with warm autumn flavors. Perfect for your Halloween or Thanksgiving party these cheesecake bars are a crowd favorite. Step-by-step photos show you how to make these delicious dessert bars!!

My favorite time of year is October thru December. Everyone is happier, three of the best holidays, the weather isn't as hot. I could go on. Pumpkin foods are everywhere, I love pumpkin. My pumpkin cheesecake recipe is always a hit but this year I wanted to make some handheld pumpkin cheesecake bars. You know I love a good handheld cheesecake (dulce de leche cheesecake bars).

These bars are easy to whip up, full of pumpkin flavor, and a family favorite. I truly think it is a great recipe!! If you're looking for a no-bake recipe check out my easy no-bake pumpkin cheesecake.

Ingredients

For the pumpkin cheesecake bars you will need:

• Graham Cracker Crumbs. You can crush full graham cracker sheets or buy pre-crushed graham crackers.
• Butter. We use melted butter to bind the crust together. 
• Cream Cheese. This is CRUCIAL to the success of the recipe. Your cream cheese must be completely softened to room temperature. You can place the foil-wrapped cream cheese blocks in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes or so, be careful if the water is too hot it will melt the cream cheese you don't want that.
• Granulated Sugar. The sugar is used for the crust and for the cheesecake filling.
• Pure Pumpkin Puree. Make sure you use pure pumpkin NOT Pumpkin Pie filling.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice.  You can use a blend of your own pumpkin pie spices like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves sometimes allspice. But I buy a jar of pumpkin pie spice for ease.
• Pure Vanilla Extract. Use the real stuff, trust me!!
• Sour Cream. This needs to be at room temperature to properly incorporate with the rest of the ingredients.
• Eggs. We'll use whole eggs and an extra yolk for added richness. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. To get your eggs at room temperature quickly simply place them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes before using them.

Instructions

You must have a properly preheated oven. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Then line an 8-inch square pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil so that the foil overhangs on the sides. This will make it easier to remove the cheesecake bars from the pan after they have cooled and chilled. Make sure to grease the foil with non-stick spray and set aside.  

You can use a 9-inch square pan but keep in mind the bars will not be as thick and will cook faster.

Use a food processor to pulse the graham crackers into crumbs or place them in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin into fine crumbs. You just don't want any large chunks. Mix in some sugar.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter, until a sand-like texture is reached and all the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumbs into the bottom and slightly up upsides of prepared pan. Bake in your preheated oven for 6 minutes then set aside while you prepare the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F/ 163C. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or large bowl with an electric hand mixer beat cream cheese for 2 minutes on low-medium speed. You don't want to mix on high as that will incorporate more air into the batter. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl, the cream cheese should be smooth with no lumps.

Mix in granulated sugar for a minute or two, again scraping down the sides of the bowl, this will really loosen the cream cheese up.

Next, you'll add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and sour cream. Beat for another 2-3 minutes on low-medium speed.  You want to make sure everything is fully combined and there are no white spots, so scrape the sides of the bowl!! You should have a creamy batter with no lumps.

Finally, add in the eggs one at a time, making sure there are no traces of yolk left behind.

Pour cheesecake batter into the prepared pan. Place the 8-inch pan in a larger pan you can use whatever you have on hand, you just want it to sit into the pan with a little room around the sides so you can pour hot water into the larger pan to bake the cheesecake bars in a water bath. 

Bake the Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You can tell if they are done bt checking the middle of the cheesecake, it should jiggle just a little bit. You can use a digital internal thermometer to check the cheesecake has reached 145F/63C. I use my Thermpaen MK4.

Turn the oven off, open the door and let the bars cool in the oven for 45 minutes then take out of the water bath and let cool on a wire rack on the counter for an hour before wrapping with plastic wrap then chill in the fridge for at least three hours. Cooling the cheesecake slowly helps ensures no large cracks.

When chilled and ready to serve gently remove the foil and use a large knife to slice into bars. If desired pipe stabilized whipped cream on top and add a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

To achieve clean slices I use a knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean after each slice.

How to freeze

Cheesecake is a great candidate for freezing. These pumpkin cheesecake bars can be frozen for up to 3 months, but I think they are best within a month. To freeze the cheesecake bars place them on a plate or small baking sheet and flash freeze uncovered for a few hours. Once the bars are firm wrap in plastic wrap tightly, twice, then transfer to a freezers safe storage container or bag. When ready to thaw remove the plastic wrap and let sit on a plate to thaw for a couple of hours on the counter.

Can you double

You can double the ingredients and bake the cheesecake bars in a 9X13 inch pan and the bake time should not change too much, just keep an eye on them.

More pumpkin desserts

• I love to start my weekend brunch with a tasty pumpkin muffin.
• Another pumpkin bar recipe that is a crowd-pleaser is these pumpkin pie bars that have a delicious oat crust.
• Oat flour pumpkin bread is an easy recipe that's perfect for a snack at any time of day.
• My friend Hayley makes the best pumpkin spice popcorn!
• Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodles are a delicious warm cookie you are sure to adore.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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