Go Back
–+ servings
A close up picture of a cheesecake swirled pumpkin bar.

Cheesecake swirled pumpkin bars

These Cheesecake Swirled Pumpkin Bars are everything you are looking for in a fast and easy fall dessert. This pumpkin cheesecake recipe is easy and has just the right amount of pumpkin flavor. It tastes exactly like a cheesecake that crossed paths with a pumpkin spice cake or pumpkin bars – the very best of both worlds. The only thing difficult about this cream cheese swirl cake is waiting for it to cool down so you can eat it!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
cooling time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 bars
Calories 184 kcal

Equipment

  • 11X15 sheet pan
  • mixing bowl or stand mixer

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin bar batter

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoons salt
  • 4 eggs beaten
  • 1 15-ounce pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup butter softened

Cheesecake filling

  • 1 8-ounce cream cheese softened
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup granulated sugar

Instructions
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Prepare a 10X15X1 baking sheet by spraying it with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
    2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoons salt
  2. Stir in the eggs, pumpkin and softened butter until combined.
    4 eggs, 1 15-ounce pumpkin puree, 1 cup butter
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar and egg. Start beating on a low speed and then increase to medium-high. This will take a few. minutes, but the cheesecake filling will look glossy, silky and smooth when it's ready.
    1 8-ounce cream cheese, 1 egg, ½ cup granulated sugar
  4. Spread thin, uneven dollops all over the top of the pumpkin bar batter. Use a knife or chopstick to swirl through the cheesecake and batter, being careful not to scrape the bottom of the pan.
  5. Run the knife back and forth, diagonal and side to side until you are satisfied with the marble pattern. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  6. Set the hot pan of pumpkin bars with cream cheese swirls on a wire rack and let it cool for up to two hours before cutting and serving.
  7. The cheesecake swirled pumpkin bars can be cut into traditional squares. It can be sliced into big pieces and will make 24 bars, or small pieces and can be stretched to 48 bars. When I am cutting it into 48 pieces, I like to make my 24 squares and then cut each square in half diagonally to make cute little triangles.

Notes

Hint: This recipe can also be made as two 8” circle cake pans. Follow the steps above, but decrease the baking time to 20-25 minutes.

VARIATIONS

This recipe is really tasty as written, but there are a few ways you can put your own spin on it! 
  1. Pecans: I know not everyone loves nuts in their desserts, but I think pecans and pumpkin are a match made in heaven. I like to sprinkle ½ cup of toasted pecan pieces over the bar cookies just before baking.
  2. Applesauce: For my friends who don’t actually like pumpkin desserts, this is actually the same recipe I use to make my Apple Bars with Cream Cheese Swirl. Instead of using the pumpkin puree, you will need 15 ounces of applesauce. If I’m doing the apple version, I will also substitute the pumpkin pie spice for apple pie spice.
  3. Chocolate: I generally like to keep my pumpkin cake as-is, but is it ever a bad idea to add mini chocolate chips? There are two ways I’ve done this, and I like them both (so I’m not going to tell you which one to choose!). First, you can stir ½ cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips into the cream cheese mixture and then sprinkle another handful over the top after the cream cheese has been swirled into the pumpkin batter. The other way is simply sprinkling the chocolate chips over the top just before baking. 

Substitutions

There is one question that comes up more often than all of the others when it comes to making these pumpkin bar cookies.  Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin puree? NO! Just no.  Pumpkin puree is what you need for this.
Another substitution that can be made is to use individual spices instead of pumpkin pie spice. If you are wanting to make your spice blend from scratch, I’ve found that 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon clove, ¼ teaspoon ginger works very well.

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 180mgPotassium: 28mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 294IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Share it with us @NinnescahHomestead