Friday, November 16, 2007

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars


I made these for a book club gathering, and they were delicious. And the recipe comes from Cooking Light magazine, so they're (relatively) good for you, too. The picture doesn't quite do them justice.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 teaspoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
cooking spray

Filling:
1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 (8 oz.) package fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz.) package 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 large egg

Remaining ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons water

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add flour to pan; cook 5 minutes or until light brown, stirring often. Remove pan from heat. Transfer flour to bowl; cool completely.
3. Combine cooled flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse 5 times or until combined. (I did this part by hand with a fork). Add chilled butter; pulse until mixture resembles fine meal. Press 1 cup of flour mixture evenly into the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan coated with cooking spray; reserve the remaining flour mixture. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.
4. To prepare filling, spread pumpkin in an even layer on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 5 minutes.
5. Combine granulated sugar, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, and cream cheeses in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until smooth. Scrape pumpkin into bowl using a rubber spatula. Add egg subsitute, cinnamon, vanilla, allspice, and egg; beat until smooth. Scrape batter into baked crust.
6. Combine reserved flour mixture and pecans in a small bowl; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons water. Squeeze handfuls of topping to form large pieces. Crumble over filling. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until filling is firmly set. Remove from heat; cool in pan on wire rack at room temperature. Cut into 12 portions. Serve at room temperature.

4 comments:

Tyler Waterfall said...

Jess, I was thinking about making these for the Waterfalls over Thanksgiving. They look so good!

Sara said...

Those sure look yummy!
BTW...Tag, you're it...
(see my blog)

The Silly Witch said...

So I love Cooking Light Magazine, and their attempts to take the guilt away from treats. I wonder if they would taste different with Regular Cream Cheese instead of the reduced fat variety. I always wonder...

Rhonda said...

Oh Jessss... you are going to be thrilled to know I "TAGGED" you. Fun, fun!