Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

This is a must have for our Thanksgiving dinners. I literally mimic the big family meal with refined-sugar, lactose and gluten free alternatives and my sister makes a fabulous Cooks Illustrated spiced pumpkin cheesecake, so that was my guide for this cheesecake. This is lovely with the pecan crust which just adds to the Thanksgivingness of it all! This can also be made into a traditional cake shape if you have a springform pan, but we like to keep these stored in the freezer as little cheesecake bites.

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups raw pecans

• 1 cup blanched almond flour - not almond meal (I use Wellbees)

• 2 TBSP pure honey (no additives)

  3 TBSP cultured butter (I use Kerrygold)

• ¼ tsp sea salt, ginger and nutmeg

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 cup cream cheese (I make it from dripped 24-hour fermented yogurt)

• 1 cup yogurt (I use 24-hour fermented yogurt)

• 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree - note: I drip the pumpkin through a strainer covered with a cheesecloth or cloth napkin for about 20 minutes OR dump the can into some paper towels and try to squeeze out some moisture - the goal here is to try out the pumpkin puree so it isn’t so watery.

• ¾ cup pure honey (no additives)

• 1 TBSP vanilla extract (no sugar added)

• ½ tsp each of ground cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and a pinch of nutmeg

• 4 eggs room temperature

Directions: 

Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper (or springboard pan if you are using).

2. In a mini-chop or blender, quickly grind/pulverize the pecans - not too long though, you don’t want to make pecan butter.

3. Melt the butter and transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Add in the honey and whisk.

4. Add in the almond flour, ground pecans, sea salt and spices and mix until well incorporated. You can use your hands and shape in to a round ball.

5. In the pan, place the dough and press with your fingers until the bottom of the pan is evenly covered.

6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take out and let cool for about 5-10 minutes and then place in the freezer while you are making your filling.

Filling

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, yogurt and pumpkin puree.

2. Add in the honey, vanilla extract and spices and whisk some more.

3. Then, beat one egg at time into the mixture.

4. Remove the partially cooked crust from the freezer. Pour the pumpkin cheesecake mix into the pan over the crust.

5. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. I always use the full time, but you can begin checking after 1 hour and 15 minutes.

6. You want a slight jiggle - if the top is jiggly, it needs more baking time. After the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven, open the door so it is slightly ajar and leave in the oven for 30 more minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, place the pan on a wire rack and let cool for about an hour and a half. Once fully cooled, wrap the pan tightly with tin foil and place in the refrigerator. It needs to cool in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours - I leave mine in overnight.

7. When ready, cut into bars and serve. The longer the cheesecake sits, the soggier the crust becomes. We freeze the bars and then leave them out for 30 minutes or so before serving and you avoid any sogginess.