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A square piece of pumpkin cheesecake streusel bars on a plate.
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Pumpkin Streusel Bars

These delicious pumpkin streusel bars have a cinnamon graham cracker crust, creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling, and brown sugar streusel on top. They're a little different than classic pumpkin pie - and even more delicious if you ask me.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Pumpkin Cheesecake Streusel Bars, Pumpkin Streusel Bars
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling and Chilling 7 hours
Total Time 8 hours 25 minutes
Servings 15 pieces
Calories 360kcal

Equipment

  • 9x13 Inch Pan

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

  • 2 cups graham crumbs*
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted

Pumpkin Layer

  • 22 ounces full-fat cream cheese* softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar give it a bit of a stir to remove any lumps
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice* or make your own - see recipe notes
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch*
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • one 15 ounce can pure pumpkin* AKA pumpkin puree
  • 3 large eggs room temperature

Streusel

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup quick oats old-fashioned oats are ok
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Glaze

  • 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325F degrees. Line a 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) glass or ceramic pan with parchment paper.

Graham Crust

  • In a medium bowl, stir together the graham crumbs, sugar and salt.
  • Stir in the melted butter.
  • Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven & keep the oven turned on.

Pumpkin Layer

  • In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
  • Beat in the white sugar, brown sugar, spices and cornstarch. To ensure the batter is smooth, ensure there are no lumps in the brown sugar before adding it into the cream cheese.
  • With the mixer on low speed, mix in the vanilla extract and pumpkin.
  • Carefully mix in the eggs 1 at a time until just combined.
  • Pour the pumpkin batter over top of the crust.
  • Bake in the preheated oven (at 325F degrees) for 30 minutes as you make the streusel topping.

Streusel

  • In a medium bowl stir together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and oats.
  • Stir in the melted butter - it should feel like wet sand.
  • Crumble/sprinkle the streusel over top of the semi-baked pumpkin layer (after it's been baked for 30 minutes).
  • Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden, and there is no wobble in the middle if you give the pan a nudge.

Cooling, Chilling & Serving

  • Place the pan on top of a wire rack and let the bars cool at room temperature (in the pan).
  • Once the bottom of the pan is room temperature, cover the pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at leat 6 hours (or overnight).
  • When ready to serve, remove the bars from the fridge. Lift them out of the pan using the overhang of the parchment paper and place on a cutting board. Slice with a sharp knife.
  • Optionally, whisk together the cream/ and powdered sugar starting with 1 tablespoon of cream and adding more if needed. Drizzle on top of each slice. Or drizzle each slice with salted caramel sauce.

Notes

  1. Graham crumbs can be substituted with digestive biscuit crumbs.
  2. Make sure to use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese. Do not use lite or spreadable because they won't give the cheesecake the proper consistency.
  3. To make your own pumpkin pie spice - use 1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ginger and ⅛ teaspoon allspice. Or if you're really in a pinch, use 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon.
  4. Cornstarch can be substituted with flour if needed.
  5. One 15 ounce can is almost 2 cups of pumpkin measured out. I do not recommend using homemade pumpkin puree because it can have different amounts of liquid and therefore lead to inconsistent results. Do not use pumpkin pie filling. 
  6. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 
  7. Nutrition information is an estimate only, and based one bar (without glaze) assuming that the pan is sliced into 15 equal pieces. 

Nutrition

Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 387mg | Potassium: 187mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 405IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 1mg