By Halloween. Earl Thomas trick-or-treated as a firefighter this year — full costume, helmet, boots. He ran from door to door with Travis while I followed with the candy bucket, same role, same joy. Nadia was a pumpkin — orange fleece, green stem hat, the exact same costume Earl Thomas wore his first Halloween, which Amber borrowed from Jolene because that is what families do, they pass costumes down the way they pass recipes down, and the costume carries the memory of the first child into the second child and the second child doesn't know but the grandparents do, and the knowing is a kind of sweetness that doesn't need sugar.
Made pumpkin soup and roasted the seeds from the sugar pumpkin. Third year. The tradition is fully established. Three years is a tradition. I decide.
The soup came first — it always does now, third year running — but after Earl Thomas and Nadia were down and the candy was sorted and Travis was watching highlights on the couch, I wanted something sweet that still tasted like the day. These Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Bars have that same orange-spiced quality as everything else on Halloween, and the crumble on top feels earned, the way a good ending to a good night should feel. Three years of pumpkin soup, and this year I added these alongside. The tradition is expanding. I decide that too.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Bars
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy lifting.
- Make the crumble base. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse, pea-sized crumbles.
- Press and reserve. Press two-thirds of the crumble mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set the remaining crumble aside for the topping.
- Make the cheesecake filling. In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese with granulated sugar until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix until fully combined and no streaks remain.
- Assemble. Spread the pumpkin cheesecake filling evenly over the pressed crust. Scatter the reserved crumble mixture over the top, pressing gently so it adheres slightly without fully burying the filling.
- Bake. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is set with only a very slight jiggle. A toothpick inserted near the center should come out mostly clean.
- Cool and cut. Allow bars to cool in the pan for 30 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour before lifting out and slicing into 16 bars. Chilled bars cut cleanest.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 245 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 29g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 130mg