Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars are moist pumpkin bars with swirls of cream cheese frosting throughout. This dessert will be on your fall treat recipe list every year.
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PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE BARS
If you follow me on Instagram you know that we had our annual Halloween Bunko and of course I needed a costume for the night. I wasn’t very committed to going all out on a costume this year.
Sometimes I’m in the mood to get dressed up and sometimes I’m happy to put on some black ears and call myself a cat. This was a cat kind of year.
I strolled into Party City with two kids trying to get in and out as fast as I could. I glanced at all of the costumes on the wall and saw that most of them barely covered more than my swimsuit would.
The worker by the costumes asked if she could help me so I asked her if they had any costumes that actually covered your body. She thought for a couple of seconds and said, “Um…yeah, we have two. The pirate and the devil. Oh wait, and the nun.”
“Give me the devil,” I said. (I already own the pirate and the nun)
So I was a $12 devil for Halloween Bunko. Not exactly creative, but covered all my naughty parts.
This recipe is a sister recipe to the Pumpkin Cake that is also on this blog.
It tastes like a pumpkin bread generously swirled with a sweet cream cheese mixture. I had this in the oven in under ten minutes.
It’s one of those traditional recipes that you’ll want to make every year. You can add nuts if you like. It definitely adds a nice crunch if nuts are your thing.
OTHER PUMPKIN RECIPES:
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Earthquake Cake
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1 (8 ounce package) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Batter:
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, (see Note for substitution)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- optional 1/2 cup chopped pecan pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Spray a 9x13" baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- For the filling: With a hand mixer blend together softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
- For the batter: Combine the pumpkin, sugar, egg and oil in medium mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
- Stir in flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish, and spread to cover bottom of pan.
- Add dollops of the cream cheese mixture over the batter. Cut through the batter with a knife to make a marbled effect w/ the cream cheese mixture in an up and down pattern. Repeat going the other way. When marbling make sure you don't go all the way to the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans if desired.
- Bake for 25 - 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool an cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
These were so easy to make and delicious!
Thank you!
My husband ate the entire pan in one setting.
Thank you!
I followed the recipe line for line and bake all the time but wouldn’t call this a cheesecake bar or have it anywhere in the title. It’s still yummy but tastes like spiced cake and that’s it. Still moist and a fall dessert but not an ounce of cream cheese/cheesecake in the flavor or texture which is a bummer. Not sure what I did wrong!
I used the entire can of pumpkin and it turned out great. It’s very much like a muffin/cake.
Yes true!
This turned out just as the picture showed. (All I did differently was add about another 1/2 cup of cream cheese.) I do know why no one else’s turned out like mine but the secret is to swirl the plops of cream cheese with a knife but DO NOT HIT THE BOTTOM of the pan with your knife. Don’t be afraid to swirl it up good ladies. Wish I could submit a picture for you.
Ended up with a flat looking cake. No cream cheese taste or texture. Super disappointed as I was looking for that cool and creamy consistency. Should’ve read the other comments first before making.
I made this and the cream cheese portion on top looks more like a white cake texture. There’s no cream cheese texture to it at all. I double checked all of my measurements so I am not sure why it looks like a flat swirly cake instead of a cream cheese layer.
It does have a cake like texture but creamy