Rich and creamy pumpkin cheesecake bars with a cinnamon graham cracker crust and chocolatey drizzle – the perfect little fall dessert!
These little pumpkin cheesecake bars are the perfect Thanksgiving dessert! They’re a little more indulgent than most of my recipes, but hey it’s the holidays so I think we’re all okay with that.
Robbie’s favorite thing ever is cheesecake so he was thrilled when he tried my first batch of these yesterday! He rated them 10/10 BUT today I tested them again, and I think they’re even better. I’m so excited to share this recipe 🙂 For the crust I used crushed organic cinnamon graham crackers (I got mine at Whole Foods) and Vital Farm’s [3] pasture raised/grass fed butter. At first, I tried melted coconut oil instead of butter (which you can still use instead), but I think the crust came out WAY better with the butter. Sometimes, you need the real thing, and that’s totally okay. I’m not afraid of some butter, especially when it’s great quality.
For the cheesecake filling I used organic cream cheese (you can use dairy-free if you need, Kite Hill [4] is a great brand!), pure pumpkin puree, coconut sugar (feel free to use regular granulated sugar), an egg, vanilla, pumpkie pie spice (I get mine at Trader Joe’s), and salt. For the chocolate drizzle, I melted 1/2 a Lily’s chocolate bar [5]. You can use whatever chocolate you’d like for this!
They’re also so good with a little bit of whipped cream on top. Makes for the perfect sweet snack or dessert 🙂
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/2 cup crushed cinnamon graham crackers
1/3 cup melted butter
Pumpkin Cheesecake Topping
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
melted chocolate for drizzling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 and top an 8×8 inch baking dish with foil, shape the foil to the pan and leave the foil ends extended past the edge of the pan (this makes it easier to lift/cut into bars later). Lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl combine crushed graham crackers and melted butter. Add the crust to the prepared baking dish and pat it down into a smooth layer.
In a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, mix/beat the softened cream cheese until its super smooth. Add the coconut sugar and mix again.
Next add the egg and mix again.
Add pumpkin puree, vanilla, salt, and pumpkin pie spice and make sure everything is well combined and smooth.
Top the crust with the pumpkin cheesecake mixture. Use a rubber spatula to make sure everything is smooth if need be.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the center is set.
Let cool completely then drizzle with melted chocolate.
Cover and let refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Lift foil and cut into 12 bars.
Keep bars refrigerated until ready to eat! They should stay good in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for longer!
Notes
- you can substitute the butter with coconut oil, however I recommend using butter!
- you can substitute the coconut sugar for granulated sugar
- if you can’t find pumpkin pie spice do 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp ground ginger.
Find it online: https://dashofmandi.com/pumpkin-cheesecake-bars-2/ [8]