Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

These pumpkin cheesecake bars are made up of a buttery cookie base and swirls of creamy vanilla and pumpkin cheesecake, cut into bars these are the perfect fall treat!

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• Ingredients needed
• Tips for the perfect cheesecake
• How to make your own pumpkin puree
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

We're already in the second week of October and the fall baking recipes are in full swing. We've got pumpkin bread, pumpkin scones, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, pumpkin cookies (I did one of these too 😉 here) and so much more... Well I know you probably aren't at a loss for fall baking recipes, but another good one doesn't hurt right?!

Cheesecake is the perfect match for pumpkin. Rich and slightly tangy cream cheese with sweet pumpkin is so good! These pumpkin cheesecake bars are just that, and they're great for a picnic, afternoon tea or lunchbox snack.

Ingredients needed

The ingredients in this recipe are pretty simple!

• Cookies/crackers: It's important to use a biscuit or cracker that you love, because it's going to make up a whole component of the cheesecake. If you're in Australia I love using Arnott's 'Scotch Fingers' because they're kind of like a cross between a shortbread and cookie. Some other favourites are digestive biscuits or graham crackers! Go with what you have available and love.
• Cream cheese: I use Philadelphia cream cheese, a classic, but for a baked cheesecake no other cream cheeses do justice. Make sure the cream cheese has come to room temperature before baking, this makes the assembly process easier as it prevents clumps of cheesecake forming in the batter.
• White sugar: Plain white sugar does the job here!
• Plain greek yogurt or sour cream: Either of these will work great. This is an important ingredient because it adds an extra creamy component to the cake without making it overly rich, instead adding a little tang!
• Thickened/heavy cream: The cream helps to thin out the batter, if you don't have thickened/heavy cream pure cream works well too.
• Eggs: Eggs can't be missed when making a baked cheesecake as they are the binding agent that holds it all together
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch is the trick to an extra creamy cheesecake with the perfect texture. The cornstarch acts as a thickener, as flour would in traditional cheesecake recipes, however it thickens to a smoother consistency.
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla compliments the pumpkin for a well rounded flavour
• Pumpkin puree: The star of the show! Both home-made and store-bought pumpkin puree work great here. See below for tips on pumpkin puree and how to make your own.
• Cinnamon: This was my spice of choice for flavouring the pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice mix will also work great here!

Tips for the perfect cheesecake

This cheesecake is pretty fool-proof, but here are a couple of tips to help you achieve the creamiest of cheesecakes!

Use room temperature ingredients

This is one of the most important tips when making cheesecake. Cold cream cheese is the worst because it forms clumps that are difficult to smoothen out once incorporated with other ingredients. Room temperature cream cheese in hand with other room temperature ingredients works perfectly to create a smooth batter.

Don't skip the cornstarch

The cornstarch helps bring a creamy texture to the cheesecake as well as giving the bars some extra structure.

Pass the batter through a fine meshed sieve (optional)

This is an optional step as it can be quite finicky, however passing the cheesecake batter through a sieve will ensure a silky smooth batter free from clumps of cream cheese.

If you used cold ingredients and have found your batter to be extra clumpy this is the perfect tip to save your cake!

Leave your cake in the oven after baking

Cooling the cake in the oven after it has been baked will help the cheesecake set without over-baking it!

How to make your own pumpkin puree

You can use storebought pumpkin puree to make these, however if you're somewhere where canned pumpkin isn't readily available then it's super easy to make it at home.

I recommend choosing a sweeter variety of pumpkin as this is the pumpkin flavour your cheesecake will take on. I used a kent/japanese which tends to be sweeter than other varieties.

To make the puree, peel the pumpkin and cut it into 3cm cubes. Place it in a steamer for 20 minutes until cooked through, or microwave in a heatproof bowl covered with cling wrap for 5 minutes. Once tender mash into a smooth puree.

Steaming is the best option as it doesn't add much extra moisture to the pumpkin while microwaving can add extra moisture due to condensation.

If you find your pumpkin puree is extra moist place a cheesecloth/paper towel over a fine meshed sieve and add your pumpkin puree. Set it aside and allow the extra moisture from the pumpkin to drip away!

Let's get baking

It's halfway through October now, so if you haven't already started fall baking, now is the time! These pumpkin cheesecake bars will be loved by everyone so why not give them a go this weekend 😉

If you make this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to hear how it went.

Also don't forget to tag me on instagram @catherine.justdessertsau and hashtag #cattycakes so I can see and share your desserts!

Follow me on facebook, pinterest, youtube and tiktok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy caking!

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