This is one of my favorite fall recipes (a little late to come to the blog, unfortunately). To me, there’s really no dessert better than a cheesecake and combined with pumpkin, you really can’t go wrong. I’ve made this recipe (with modifications, of course, because I just have to modify everything) for the last few years and it’s always a hit.  Often (and as I did here) I make this into bars because it’s easier for sharing/transporting and a little less fuss, in general.  I leave the filling amount the same but increase the crust to fit a 9×13 pan.  And the gingersnap-pecan crust? Well, that’s the best part (at least for me). I add a little more spice than the original recipe calls for, which I think makes the pumpkin stand out a bit more.  This cheesecake is not overly sweet, which is also nice.  So there you have it–a dessert that’s easy to make and goes over well every time.

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Adapted from allrecipes.com

2.25 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 (heaping) tsp. ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 250 and lightly grease a 9×13 baking pan.  In a large bowl or in your food processor (which is what I use, since I already used it to crush the gingersnaps), combine the gingersnaps, pecans, and butter.  Press into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl or in your stand mixer bowl, mix the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition.  Set aside one cup of the mixture.  To the remaining mixture, mix in the 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Spread the pumpkin batter into the crust.  Drop the remaining plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until filling is just set (the middle will still jiggle a little bit).  Cool the bars in the pan and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.