Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• 20 chocolate wafer cookies
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°.
• 2 line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. set aside.
• 3 crust: blend cookies and sugar in a food processor until finely ground (you should have 1 cup of crumbs); add butter and pulse to combine.
• 4 transfer crumb mixture to prepared pan, and press gently into bottom.
• 5 bake until fragrant and slightly firm, 12 to 15 minutes.
• 6 set aside to cool.
• 7 filling: place cream cheese in food processor; blend until smooth.
• 8 add sugar, pumpkin purée, eggs, flour, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt; process until combined.
• 9 set aside.
• 10 place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted.
• 11 add 1 cup pumpkin mixture; stir to combine.
• 12 set aside.
• 13 pour remaining pumpkin mixture into prepared pan.
• 14 drop dollops of chocolate mixture onto pumpkin mixture; swirl.
• 15 bake until cheesecake is set but jiggles slightly when gently shaken, 40 to 50 minutes.
• 16 cool in pan.
• 17 cover; chill until firm, at least 2 hours (and up to 2 days).
• 18 using overhang, transfer cake to work surface. with a knife dipped in water, cut into 16 squares.