Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodle Bars

This recipe could very well make people call us names.  That’s fair.  It’s a price we’re perfectly willing to pay for the sake of imparting anything pumpkin on the world, particularly something that might cause your hand to break the sound barrier going back for seconds.  Looking at the above photo, you might be thinking,”Oooo, those look nice…”  You are woefully underestimating the delectable nirvana that awaits you.

Pumpkin cheesecake is heavenly on it own, and snickerdoodles are awesome in and of themselves, but put them in a pan together and play a little Barry White…you get the picture.

This is also one of those recipes wherein the gluten-free version leaves absolutely nothing to be desired, except maybe that second serving.

Side note:  These are also pretty amazing in smoothies.  What? I was out of fresh fruit.  And don’t “tsk-tsk” me.  I already had to deal with the judge-y side eye from the NutriBullet.

Inspired by Betty Crocker.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodle Bars

 

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Ingredients

• Snickerdoodle Batter:
• 2 ⅓ cups (292 g.) All-Purpose flour OR 292 g. All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend plus 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• ¾ cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 ¼ cups (248 g.) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (106 g.)packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pumpkin Cheeseecake:
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup (53 g.) dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. salt.
• Cinnamon Filling
• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spray or grease bottom only of a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray or butter. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar and xanthan gum (if using gluten-free flour); set aside.
2. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on high speed until creamy. Beat in sugars. Gradually beat in eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese, brown sugar, egg, pumpkin, vanilla, and salt. Set aside.
4. Spoon half the batter into pan; spread evenly. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle evenly over batter.
5. Spread pumpkin cheesecake mixture evenly over cinnamon-sugar.
6. Dollop teaspoon size amounts of remaining batter evenly over pumpkin cheesecake mixture. Using a butter knife or small offset spatula, swirl the dolloped batter into the cheesecake layer (it’s OK if some of the cinnamon sugar starts to peek through).
7. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

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