Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Although pumpkin can be a polarizing flavor (and pumpkin cheesecake even more so), I happen to be a fan of both. Pumpkin and cheesecake. Cheesecake and pumpkin. Pumpkin cheesecake. Yum.

So of course it was only a matter of time before pumpkin cheesecake met an Oreo crust. Because, hello. Match made in heaven and all that.

There’s a lot to love in these little babies, if you ask me. You’ve got yourself a chocolatey Oreo crust, topped with a creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling, then a lightly sweet sour cream topping and further accessorized by Oreo cookie crumbles.

It’s baked layer upon layer, chilled, and devoured.

The flavors are rich and decadent and delicious. You can tell from my pictures that I underbaked my cheesecake just a bit. That jiggly center always gets me – too jiggly or not jiggly enough? Tough life question.

In the end, I loved the soft creaminess of the pumpkin cheesecake layer; I’ll leave it up to you when to pull it out of the oven (more details in the actual recipe for timing and general jiggliness). This dessert basically reminded me that yes, I am and will always be a pumpkin cheesecake lover. The Oreo crust certainly doesn’t hurt, either.

One Year Ago: Easy Banh Mi Sandwiches {Vietnamese Meatball Sub – My Favorite Sandwich Ever}
Two Years Ago: White Chicken and Spinach Lasagna
Three Years Ago: Creamy Swiss Cheese Chicken Bake

Yield: 9-inch pan of bars

Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Total Time: 9 hours 30 mins (includes chilling time)

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins

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Ingredients:

Oreo Crust:

• 1 package (about 14 ounces) Oreo cookies (or similar chocolate sandwich-type cookie, 36 cookies total)
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted

Pumpkin Filling:

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (7.5 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with at least 1 3/4-inch or higher sides (preferably aluminum but glass will work, too) with two strips of foil that overhang on all four sides (to easily lift out the squares after baking/cooled). You can omit the foil step and lightly grease the pan with nonstick cooking spray if you don’t want to lift out the bars after baking.
2. For the crust, pulse 26 of the Oreo cookies (reserve the others for topping) in a blender or food processor until they are fine crumbs. Add the butter and pulse until the crumbs are wet and sandy in texture. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
4. For the filling by beating the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer (handheld or stand) until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, eggs, flour, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves and mix until smooth. Pour the filling onto the crust and spread evenly.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the sides are set but the center (about a 4-inch radius in the middle) still jiggles slightly.
6. Remove the bars from the oven but leave it on.
7. Whisk together the sour cream and powdered sugar for the topping and spoon it in dollops across the top of the bars (if you pour it all into the middle, it will be hard to spread). Quickly spread it evenly across the top. Bake the bars for another 10-15 minutes until the edges of the sour cream topping are set.
8. Let the bars cool on a rack for an hour or so. Cover loosely with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Chop the rest of the Oreos and sprinkle them on top before serving.

Notes:

You can sub 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in the recipe. I haven’t tried this recipe with low fat cream cheese or light sour cream.

A 9-inch springform pan would also work here; the layers might be a bit thinner. As I noted below in the instructions, make sure your 9-inch baking pan has sides nearly 2-inches tall. The pan will be very full. If I were wanting to make this in a 9X13-inch pan, I wouldn’t double the recipe (I think it would be too thick), instead, I would 1 1/2 the ingredients (I haven’t tried this yet myself, just thinking out loud about the best way to go about it).

Keep in mind these bars need to chill for at least 8 hours (they make a perfect make-ahead dessert!).

All images and text ©Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Recipe Source: lightly adapted from Cuisine at Home October 2014