Chocolate-Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
I created this by taking my favorite cheesecake brownie recipe, which is about 40 years old, and kicking it up with pumpkin and spices. These will disappear fast, so consider doubling the recipe. —Judy Castranova, New Bern, North Carolina
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter, cubed
- 1-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- CHEESECAKE BATTER:
- 1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Reviews
Good flavors in this recipe. Like others said, expect a cake to come out of the oven. This will definitely not produce a fudgy brownie-like product. Way too much flower and leavening for that. A lot of the negative reviews seem to focus on how its not like a brownie or there's not enough cheesecake. Some modifications I would try are: -Go ahead and use a full stick of butter, and don't melt it. Soften it instead and then cream the sugar in before adding the other wet ingredients. -Cut way back on the baking soda. Maybe 1/4 teaspoon, and even then you may not need that. Creaming the sugar into the solid butter will help with lift. -I have a feeling some flower could be left out, but I'd have to play around with how much. -Use a sugar/brown sugar mix, maybe start with a 3/4:1/4 mix and go from there. -If you want more cheesecake, you could probably double it up but I think you'd really have to change the baking process. Probably bake the chocolate base first for a few minutes, then pour the cheesecake on top. Also I wouldn't try this with the stock recipe. You'll probably end up with a mess in the oven.
My kiddos declared they loved these bars. As others mentioned, I used a 13x9 pan, for a thicker bar. I agree, they should not be called cheesecake bars, they are surely a cake. The cheesecake layer, is maybe 1/4 of the bar thickness and that's in the 13x9 pan). That all said, good taste all around. I did bake a bit longer, by maybe 10 minutes, and they set perfectly. Would make again.
Disappointing. Description said brownie recipe - it would have been good if the cake part remotely tasted like brownie
Made these today and was disappointed. Used the 15x10x1 pan and baked for 25 minutes and yet the middle brownies were a ittle gooey. Husband said they were "OK" and that was probably better than I would have given them, the recipe is in the trash.
very good. I used milk chocolate chips because that was all I had on hand.
Great taste! I was a little disappointed that it was more cakey than cheesecake. I expected to have a mouthful of cheesecake and that wasn't the case. Very thin topping of cheesecake mix. I also used a 9x13 pan and it did take longer to cook but I just kept my eye on it. It's definetly better the next day after it is settled and chilled.
Made this for a party last night, great hit. I tried using a 13x9 pan instead and it took a lot longer to cook and the cheescake batter was too thick, but they still turned out great tasting!!
absolutely delicious!
I modified it a bit. I used 1/2 sugar and 1/2 Splenda sugar blend. I also used 1 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. The other modification was to use Smart Balance buttery spread as opposed to regular butter. By doing that I eliminated 5 calories per bar and 13 carbs!!! Each bar after modifications only had 11 sugars each! AND they were delicious!