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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars are what happens when pumpkin pie and cheesecake stop competing and team up, two creamy layers on a spiced Biscoff cookie crust under a brown sugar walnut crumble, and the pan I brought to last Thanksgiving disappeared before the actual pie did. If your fall dessert lineup needs one more hit, our pumpkin snack cake is the easy weeknight partner to these.
The food processor does every layer, crust, filling, and crumble, so cleanup is one bowl and one blade.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 50 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 9 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 653kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Creamy spiced pumpkin and tangy cheesecake over caramelized cookie crust
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our snickerdoodle cheesecake bars
Quick Answer
Process Biscoff cookies with melted butter and press the crumbs into a parchment lined 8×8 dish, then bake 5 to 8 minutes. Blend cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch, spread three quarters of it over the crust, then blend the rest with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice and layer it on top. Bake 30 minutes, scatter on a quick walnut crumble, bake 20 more, then cool and chill 4 hours before slicing into bars.
Jump to:
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars FAQs
- Other Recommended Pumpkin Dessert Recipes
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Biscoff cookies are a shortcut spice crust. The caramelized cookies already carry brown sugar and warm spice, so the crust needs nothing but melted butter.
- Cornstarch replaces eggs in the filling. It stabilizes the cheesecake so it slices into clean bars without the fuss of a water bath.
- One batch of filling makes two layers. Blending pumpkin and spice into the last quarter of the cheesecake mixture gives you two distinct layers with zero extra dishes.
- Pre baking the crust keeps it crisp. Five to eight minutes in the oven sets the buttery crumbs so they stay crunchy under the creamy filling.
- The crumble goes on mid bake. Adding the walnut topping after the first 30 minutes keeps it golden instead of burnt, and it lands on filling set enough to hold it up.
- The chill is where bars are born. Four hours in the fridge firms the layers so every slice shows off that crust, white, orange, and crumble stack.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Two desserts in one pan, creamy cheesecake and spiced pumpkin pie in every bite.
- The whole thing is made in a food processor, no mixer and no water bath.
- It out cheesecakes our beloved snickerdoodle cheesecake bars during pumpkin season.
Key Ingredients
A cookie aisle shortcut plus creamy basics.
- Biscoff cookies: One 250 gram package processes into a caramelized, spiced crust. Gingersnaps or graham crackers work too.
- Cream cheese: A full pound, softened, is the creamy backbone of both filling layers.
- Pumpkin puree: Pure pumpkin, not pie filling, folds into the top layer with the spices.
- Cornstarch: The egg free stabilizer that makes the bars slice cleanly.
- Walnuts: Pulsed with brown sugar, flour, and butter into the crunchy crumble roof.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This layered pan takes swaps well.
- Trade the walnuts for pecans in the crumble for a pecan pie vibe.
- Use gingersnaps in the crust for extra snap and spice.
- Skip the crumble and finish chilled bars with a swirl of whipped cream and a dusting of pumpkin spice.
- Want handheld pumpkin treats instead? Our frosted pumpkin cookies travel better for parties.
How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment. Process the Biscoff cookies into fine crumbs, then add the melted butter and process until the mixture looks like damp sand.
- Press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the dish, then bake 5 to 8 minutes until golden.
- Blend the cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch in the food processor until completely smooth and creamy.
- Spread three quarters of the cheesecake mixture over the crust. Add the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to the remaining filling, blend until smooth, and carefully spread it on top. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
- While the bars bake, pulse the walnuts and brown sugar until coarsely chopped, then add the flour, pumpkin spice, salt, melted butter, and a teaspoon of water and pulse into crumbly bits.
- Scatter the crumble over the bars and bake another 20 minutes until golden. Cool completely at room temperature, chill for 4 hours, then lift out, slice into bars, and serve.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Soften the cream cheese fully. Cold cream cheese blends lumpy, and lumps never smooth out in the oven.
- Press the crust hard. Use the flat bottom of a measuring cup, a firmly packed crust will not crumble when sliced.
- Spread the pumpkin layer gently. Dollop it over the white layer first, then smooth, so the layers stay distinct.
- Watch the crumble in the last 5 minutes. Walnuts jump from golden to burnt fast.
- Chill the full 4 hours. Warm bars taste great but slice like pudding, cold bars cut clean.
- Wipe the knife between cuts and use the parchment handles to lift the whole slab out for picture perfect bars.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Serve these pumpkin cheesecake bars chilled or just barely cool, with coffee for the adults and cold milk for the kids, the Biscoff crust is at its crunchiest straight from the fridge.
On a Thanksgiving dessert table they hold their own next to pie, especially with our pumpkin bread with streusel and a plate of pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes rounding out the spread.
Hosting brunch instead? Cut them into small squares and pair with our easy pumpkin muffins for a fall grazing board.
Store the bars covered in the fridge for up to 5 days, the flavor actually deepens on day two. They also freeze well for 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars FAQs
The edges should look set and slightly puffed while the very center still has a gentle wobble, like set gelatin. The crumble should be golden. The bars firm completely during the 4 hour chill, so do not bake until the center is stiff or they will be dry.
No. Unlike a tall cheesecake, these bars are thin and stabilized with cornstarch, so they bake evenly in a regular oven without cracking. That is a big part of why bars are the easiest way to get cheesecake flavor.
Yes, about 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs with the same amount of melted butter works perfectly. Gingersnaps are another great option and add even more spice to the crust.
At least 4 hours in the fridge after they cool to room temperature, and overnight is even better. The chill sets the cheesecake and pumpkin layers so the bars slice into clean, defined layers instead of smearing.
Yes. Freeze the chilled, sliced bars in a single layer, then layer them with parchment in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, the crumble stays surprisingly crunchy.
Either they were underbaked, the chill was cut short, or the pumpkin added too much moisture. Make sure you use thick pumpkin puree, not pie filling, bake the full time, and give the bars their complete 4 hour chill before slicing.
Made these Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars? I would love to hear how they turned out, leave a comment and a star rating below!
For a handheld pumpkin dessert, our soft pumpkin whoopie pies hide a cloud of marshmallow filling.
Our two bite mini pumpkin pies belong on the same fall dessert tray.
Keep the fall bar streak going with our pecan pie brownies.
Chocolate fans should try the same creamy swirl in our cheesecake brownies.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
Cookie Crust:
- 250 gram package Biscoff cookies
- 6 tablespoons salted butter melted
Cheesecake Filling:
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Crumble:
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/3 cup light Brown Sugar packed
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
Base Cookie Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the cookies to a food processor and process them into fine crumbs.250 gram package Biscoff cookies
- Add the melted butter and process the mixture until the crumbs are slightly damp and form a cohesive, somewhat dry dough.6 tablespoons salted butter
- Transfer the crumbly dough to the prepared dish and press it firmly against the bottom and sides to establish a solid biscuit base.
- Bake for approximately 5-8 minutes, or until the crust takes on a golden-brown hue.
Cheesecake Filling:
- For the cheesecake layer, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and cream cheese in a food processor. Pulse until a creamy consistency is achieved.16 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Spread 3/4 of the cheesecake mixture carefully over the crust. Leave the remaining filling in the food processor.
- To the processor, add the pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. Blend until smooth once again.1 cup pure pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Add the pumpkin mixture on top, carefully smoothing it out.
- Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes.
Crumble:
- While the cheesecake is baking, make the crumble. Pulse the walnuts and brown sugar in a food processor until coarsely chopped.1 cup walnuts, 1/3 cup light Brown Sugar
- Add the flour, pumpkin spice, salt, melted butter, and a teaspoon of water. Pulse once more until the mixture forms crumbly bits.1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon water
- Scatter the crumble on top of the cheesecake bars (after they have baked for 30 minutes) and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the crumble achieves a golden-brown hue.
- Allow the cheesecake to rest at room temperature until completely cooled. Once it’s cooled, refrigerate for 4 hours before slicing.
- Remove the cheesecake from the baking dish, cut into bars, and serve.
Notes
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure the cream cheese is softened and at room temperature for a smooth cheesecake filling.
- Use Parchment Paper: Line your baking pan with parchment paper, allowing extra to hang over the sides for easy removal.
- Don’t Overmix: Mix the cheesecake filling on low speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer to avoid incorporating too much air.
- Check for Doneness: Bake until the edges are set, and the center still has a slight jiggle. This ensures a creamy cheesecake.
- Cool Gradually: Allow the bars to cool in the pan on a wire rack before refrigerating to prevent cracks.
- Sharp Knife: Use a sharp knife to cut the bars, wiping it clean between cuts for neat slices.
Nutrition
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