Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars are rich and decadent. A fudgy pumpkin chocolate chip base is topped with a creamy cheesecake layer studded with more chocolate chips.

When I’m craving a brownie and no one’s home to help me eat them, I go through the drive through at Kneaders Bakery and buy just one of their Cheesecake Brownies. They have a rich and fudgy base and a creamy cheesecake top with chocolate chips on top of the cheesecake. It’s a great combination of textures and flavors.

I had the Kneader’s cheesecake brownies in mind when I created this recipe. Pumpkin desserts are a fall favorite, so I decided to create a fall version of the brownies to take to a blogger luncheon.

For the base, I adapted a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe, using brown sugar and less leavening, so it would be richer and more fudgy. Then I topped it with an easy to make cheesecake batter and added chocolate chips to both the base and the cheesecake topping because I love the added texture and chocolatey deliciousness the chips give the bars.

I made these the day before I went to the luncheon, and put them in the fridge with a big Do Not Eat sign on them. There was a little bit of grumbling from my boys about me not making them for them to eat. Fortunately, there were a couple of bars left, so I brought them home and my oldest son devoured them and declared them really good. I loved them too. I’ll have to make another pan again soon.

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Yield: 16 bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on ends.
2. Prepare cheesecake layer: In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add 1 egg and flour and beat until blended; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
4. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in 1 egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.
5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Spread cream cheese mixture over pumpkin batter. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
6. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and cheesecake is set, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
7. Lift bars from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 16 squares.

More pumpkin recipes you might like:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake, Barbara Bakes
Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Barbara Bakes
Pumpkin Parfaits with Coconut Whipped Cream, The Law Student’s Wife
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, My Baking Addiction
Baked Pumpkin Fritter Bites, The Baker Mama