Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars Recipe

Now that pumpkins are in season, it’s time to find creative ways to bake with them! These chocolate chip and pumpkin cheesecake bars are a sweet treat that will be an instant favorite. Whether you serve them at your next party or you save them all for yourself, they’re so delicious they won’t last long! Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Adapted from ShugarySweets.com

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)

¼ cup granulated sugar

For the cheesecake:

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 cup pumpkin purée (canned or fresh)

1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

For the chocolate chip cookie:

1 30-ounce package refrigerated cookie dough

Instructions:

About an hour before you’re going to make this recipe, take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the crust:

If you’re crumbing the graham crackers yourself, you’ll need 18 crackers. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan. Combine crumbs, melted butter, and granulated sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir until mixture is thoroughly moistened with the butter. You can also pulse all the ingredients together in a food processor instead of stirring it by hand.

Add a sheet of parchment paper to the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan. If you don’t have parchment paper, grease it with melted butter. Press the crumbs into the bottom of pan evenly.

For the cheesecake:

Beat softened cream cheese, pumpkin purée, sugar, and spices in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer set on medium speed until creamy, which should take 3-5 minutes depending on your mixer. Use the paddle attachment if you have it. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the graham cracker crust.

For the cookie layer:

If you have a chocolate chip cookie recipe you’d like to use instead, feel free to do so. Make sure you yield the same amount of cookies that a 30 ounce package would normally produce. Crumble the cookie dough over the pumpkin cheesecake mixture, being careful to evenly distribute it.

Place baking dish in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cookie layer starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the cool in the pan for 3-4 hours, or until the bars are at room temperature. Cut the bars into serving sizes and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

Variations:

Brownie Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. Follow the recipe listed above. Omit the chocolate chip cookies and spread brownie mix over the cheesecake, instead.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. Follow the recipe listed above. Use chocolate graham crackers to make the crust. Omit the chocolate chip cookie dough and use chocolate cookie dough, instead.