Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
on Sep 01, 2018, Updated Oct 21, 2020
These Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake bars are better than a pumpkin pie! Tasty pumpkin bar with a delicious swirled layer of cream cheese. Perfect fall and Thanksgiving dessert.
Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Fall baking has arrived at our house. The kids are back to school and it was time for me to start sharing delicious apple and pumpkin desserts for you here on my blog. I have been sharing some great pumpkin spice recipes this past week. My Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Butter Cream Frosting was devoured quite quickly so another pumpkin recipe was in store.
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We made Mini Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecakes last year. I recalled them being a favorite with all of the kiddos and the hubby too. They were requested again and again. After seeing a somewhat similar type recipe over on Delish for Pumpkin Cheesecake Blondie Bars, I figured a pumpkin bar recipe would be perfect for packing in school lunches, evening dessert, or with my morning coffee. The recipe looked simple enough and looked so delish. The pumpkin swirls really caught my eye. I knew they would not be able to resist pumpkin cheesecake bars.
I was correct! I originally cut my Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars in a larger size. I had 12 bars to feed this crew. After each of them started devouring, I cut them up into smaller sized bars. If I wouldn’t have, there would have been none left for lunches or for me to enjoy, lol. As it turned out, I ended up having to make a second batch because my pumpkin loving kiddos had finished off the first batch in one evening.
I find this recipe to be sort of like a pumpkin blondie with a cheesecake layer. Maybe even cookie-like, not cake like at all. The pumpkin layer cooks up with a bit of moistness like a pumpkin pie. YUMMY! If you like pumpkin cheesecake but do not care for the fuss in making one, consider making these pumpkin bars. The recipe is easy to follow and can easily feed a crowd over the holiday season. You will find them great for office parties or even a fall bake sale. Just cut your bars into smaller sizes.
Fall baking is always so relaxing for me. I like to have my house smelling of pumpkin and cinnamon spices. It feels so comforting. I am not a fan of winter but fall has become a real favorite season for me.
I used my store bought pumpkin spice for this recipe because my hubby bought me a few new containers for my fall pumpkin recipes. If you do not have any in your spice cabinet, you can use my Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice recipe to make yourself a batch. When I made these Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake bars, I was sure to let my eggs and sour cream reach room temperature. I made sure I made my cream cheese mixture VERY creamy by beating it for a few minutes.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE SWIRLED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BARS
Topping:
8 oz softened Cream Cheese
1 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tbsp Flour
2 tbsp Sugar
Base:
2 sticks Butter (softened)
2 1/2 cup Flour
3 tsp Pumpkin Spice
1 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg, at room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
15 oz Pumpkin Puree
HOW TO MAKE SWIRLED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BARS
Topping:
In a medium to large bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla and sour cream until blended.
Add flour and sugar. Beat until smooth. Set aside.
Base:
Preheat oven to 350.
Line a 9×13″ baking dish with parchment paper(leaving excess paper overhanging).
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and pumpkin spice.
In another large bowl, beat butter until whipped.
Beat in brown sugar until smooth.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Gradually add and beat in flour mixture.
Beat in pumpkin puree until combined.
Spread batter in bottom of prepared pan, holding back about 1 cup of the batter.
Top with the cream cheese topping and spread leaving about 1/2″ border around edges.
Gently spoon remaining batter on top and use a butter knife to swirl through the layers.
Bake about 40-50 minuted or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out pretty clean.
Let cool, then lift out parchment and cut into bars.
Do you have a favorite fall pumpkin recipe?
Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Topping:
- 8 oz softened Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 2 tbsp Sugar
Base:
- 2 sticks Butter
- 2 1/2 cup Flour
- 3 tsp Pumpkin Spice
- 1 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 15 oz Pumpkin Puree
Instructions
Topping:
- In a medium to large bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla and sour cream until blended.
- Add flour and sugar. Beat until smooth. Set aside.
Base:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Line a 9x13" baking dish with parchment paper(leaving excess paper overhanging).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and pumpkin spice.
- In another large bowl, beat butter until whipped.
- Beat in brown sugar until smooth.
- Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Gradually add and beat in flour mixture.
- Beat in pumpkin puree until combined.
- Spread batter in bottom of prepared pan, holding back about 1 cup of the batter.
- Top with the cream cheese topping and spread leaving about 1/2" border around edges.
- Gently spoon remaining batter on top and use a butter knife to swirl through the layers.
- Bake about 40-50 minuted or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out pretty clean.
- Let cool, then lift out parchment and cut into bars.
Nutrition
Not sweet. They were just ok. Since they have to be refrigerated they get very solid. Def consumable cold but warm…no appealing taste at all. Was looking forward to a much better result. Very consistent with the other reviews I read.
I wish I had read the review left on this recipe before I wasted my time and money on it. I made two batches!!! Ughhh!!
They were funky tasting, not sweet enough, and had a weird texture- very doughy tasting. Skip this one!!
Pumpkin swirled cheesecake bars were very underwhelming.Wasted good ingredients for this bland bar. Not sweet enough bar. Glad I didn’t add pecans and waste them too. Now making another dessert quickly for dinner guests.