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Cheesecake Swirled Pumpkin Bars
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Soft, fudgy pumpkin bars swirled with thick ribbons of cheesecake make the ideal fall treat! You’ll love these cheesecake swirled pumpkin bars!
Cheesecake Swirled Pumpkin Bars
Cheesecake + pumpkin = perfection. It’s simple math. And it’s been proven time and time again: pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting (drool), cream cheese swirled pumpkin bread (delicious), caramel pumpkin cheesecake (incredible), pumpkin cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting (the best)…like, the concept has been proven. And this iteration of our favorite flavor combo is perfectly balanced, lightly sweet, and so fudgy. You’ll love these cheesecake swirled pumpkin bars!
What are cheesecake swirled pumpkin bars?
Soft and chewy with a fudgy almost brownie-like texture, these cheesecake swirled pumpkin bars are the pumpkin spiced bar of your dreams. The tangy cheesecake swirl perfectly complements the sweetness of the pumpkin. Plus they’re super easy to make, easy to share and freeze well! What’s not to like?
Ingredients for these pumpkin bars
These cheesecake swirled pumpkin bars call for fall baking staples you probably already have on hand, so you can whip these up on a whim! Here’s your shopping list!
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Pumpkin puree
- Vanilla extract
- Egg Yolk
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Ground Cinnamon
- Cream Cheese
Tips for getting the perfect cheesecake swirl
Of course looks aren’t everything, but a gorgeous marbled top pumpkin cheesecake bar is simply irresistible. And luckily I know alllllll the surefire ways to guarantee you thick, beautiful cheesecake swirls.
- Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature: The last thing you want is for your gorgeous cheesecake swirl to turn into a lumpy swirl. To ensure your swirl is silky smooth, make sure your cream cheese is a true room temperature so that there are no lumps!
- Drop the cheesecake by big spoonfuls rather than a bunch of small ones: The key to a pretty marble is fat swirls, so we like to drop 5 or 6 huge spoonfuls rather than a bunch of little ones.
- Do not over swirl the cheesecake and pumpkin: I know swirling is kind of fun, but you don’t want to overswirl the cheesecake and pumpkin batter together or you’ll end up with no distinct swirls!
Happy baking, my friends!
XXX
Print- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40mins
- Yield: 16 servings
- Category: dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: american
Cheesecake Swirled Pumpkin Bars
Soft, fudgy pumpkin bars swirled with thick ribbons of cheesecake make the ideal fall treat! You’ll love these cheesecake swirled pumpkin bars!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40mins
- Yield: 16 servings
- Category: dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: american
Ingredients
for the pumpkin bars
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
for the cream cheese swirl
- 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/3 cup Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper on all sides. Set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Microwave for 30 seconds, then remove and stir with a whisk. Repeat process 2 more times. Though granules of sugar will remain, the goal is to get the mixture to a glossy finish.
- Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and mix well. Add the egg yolk. Mix well.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and use a rubber spatula to fold everything together until no streaks of flour remain. Do not over mix.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread into a flat and even layer
- In a clean bowl, combine the ingredients for the cheesecake swirl and mix until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Drop the cream cheese mixture in big spoonfuls on top of the pumpkin batter. Use a butter knife to make big swirls. Do not do over swirl the bater–you want to big, distinct swirls.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges are set, and the center has puffed up, but is still slightly gooey.
- Allow to cool before slicing into 16 bars! Enjoy
I’ve made this recipe a few times. They taste amazing but like other reviews, had to bake for almost double the time (used aluminum 8×8 pan) and the swirl never seems to work (the edges are just the pumpkin batter and the all of the cream cheese batter just migrates to the center once the pumpkin rises on the edges). I’ve tried it in a ceramic dish as well and with the cream cheese on the colder side hoping it would keep its shape for the swirl but they never come out like the pictures. But like I said, they taste great at least!
Overall loved the flavors of this recipe and enjoyed them regardless of how they came out. As others mentioned, mine had to bake about double the amount of time for the cheesecake part to set with a little wiggle left. The center never quite puffed up for me, it seemed like the cheesecake weighed it down and never rose. The outer edge pieces puffed up as pictured and were delicious. Will try this recipe again and give it some more time in the oven.
I had to bake these for double the time and even then the middle was gooey and pretty much raw 🙁 Also the cream cheese topping was very liquid-y and so I was unable to swirl it. It also tasted a bit odd, but that may be because the eggs I use are fresh from the farm and have quite an eggy taste compared to store bought eggs.
Oh no! What size pan did you make this in?