Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

It’s officially fall which means soups, comfort foods and pumpkin recipes.  I am not a pumpkin pie fan, but I do love pumpkin cheesecake. I have been eating primarily Paleo for the past couple years, but just added low carb to my Paleo lifestyle.  This was really an experiment but it turned out so amazing!  When my husband tried these, he just kept saying WOW!  So mission accomplished, am I right?  He said, “You have to make these for Thanksgiving!”

In this recipe, I have used monk fruit and stevia sweeteners, but I have added other Paleo options.  I do think monk fruit and stevia are quite a bit sweeter than other sugars and I don’t like my desserts overly sweet, so you may want to add a little extra sweetener.  I always taste the mix and then adjust if necessary.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Recipe by Kimberly Smith
Makes 16 bars

Ingredients:
Crust
½ C Tin Star brown butter ghee
1 ½ C chopped pecans
1 ½ C blanched almond flour
3 T coconut flour
3 T Lakanto golden monk fruit sweetener (or substitute coconut sugar, or brown sugar)
½ t salt

Pumpkin cheesecake layer
1 C pumpkin puree
1 8 ounce container of Kite Hill plain almond cheese spread (or substitute cream cheese)
½ C coconut milk
3 eggs
6 T Lakanto golden monk fruit sweetener (or substitute coconut sugar, or maple sugar)
3 t cinnamon
2 t vanilla extract
1 t ground ginger
½ t ground nutmeg
¼ t ground cloves

Cream cheese layer
½ C Kite Hill plain almond cheese spread (or substitute cream cheese)
¼ C Tin Star brown butter ghee
2 T Lakanto golden monk fruit sweetener (or substitute maple syrup)
2 T coconut milk
1 t lemon juice
½ t vanilla extract
6 drops stevia sweetener (or substitute 1 T extra maple syrup)

Directions:
For the crust:
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees for convection oven or 325 degrees for conventional oven.
• Line 9X9 baking dish with parchment paper. (Parchment paper should be long enough to have tabs to pull cheesecake out later). Spray parchment paper with coconut oil spray
• In a food processor, add all of the ingredients from the Crust list. Pulse until combined. This should be the consistency of cookie dough.
• Put the crust into the baking dish and flatten with your fingers.
• Place dish in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes. The crush should be firm and may slightly start to brown.

While the crust is baking, make the pumpkin cheesecake layer
• Rinse out food processor
• Add all the ingredients from the Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer list. Mix until everything is combined and smooth.
• Once the crust is out of the oven, pour the pumpkin cheesecake mixture over the crust and smooth it out so it is even.
• Bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until the cheesecake is set.
• Remove and let the cheesecake cool on the counter for 1 hour, then in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

While the cheesecake is cooling, make the cream cheese layer
• Rinse out the food processor
• Add all the ingredients from the Cream Cheese Later list. Mix until everything is combined and smooth.
• After the cheesecake has cooled for 1 hour in the refrigerator, add the cream cheese layer and smooth it out so it is even.
• Place in the refrigerator for an additional 3-4 hours.

Once you pull out the cheesecake, I run a knife along any part that is touching the dish. Then pull the parchment tabs up and take the entire cheesecake out of the dish and place it on a cutting board.

I sprinkled some pumpkin pie spice on the top of my bars, but you can also use ground nutmeg or cinnamon.

Paleo, Keto, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Desserts