Friday, December 5, 2008

Food Friday: Pumpkin Cheesecake Streusel Bars

This was one of the easiest desserts I've ever made and with all the coupons out lately for the cookie mix, it cost me about $5 for the entire dessert. I took this from the Betty Crocker website.

Pumpkin Streusel Cheesecake Bars

Cookie Base
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine

Filling
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened **
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons whipping cream
2 eggs

Toppings
1/3 cup chocolate topping
1/3 cup caramel topping

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix, crushed cookies and pecans. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture is crumbly. (I used a food processor) Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. (I used my kitchen aid stand mixer) Add remaining filling ingredients; beat until well blended. Pour over warm cookie base. Sprinkle with reserved topping.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.
4. Before serving, drizzle with chocolate and caramel toppings. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

**I prefer to use Neufatchel cheese. It is just as good as regular cream cheese with the same texture and 1/3 of the fat.

For more recipes, check out Gayle's website.

0 comments: