Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars.......12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Week 8

I just had to include a cheesecake dessert in my 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.  I know they aren't cookies but they could pass as a bar cookie.  Right?  Either way, if you love cheesecake as much as I do, you really have to make these for your dessert/cookie tray this year.  Cheesecake is really easy to make and the results are always so impressive.  These are super easy because you make them in a 9 x 13 pan instead of a Springform pan. (see instructions below for making a traditional cheesecake in a springform pan)

These cheesecake bars were for my husband's Thanksgiving work party.  I had to cut the bars at home and quickly take some pictures before he carted them off to work.  There were only a few left, so my thoughtful husband brought 2 home for me to try.  And I'm so glad he did!  They are soooooo good.  Creamy pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap and pecan crust.  And the swirls are so pretty. 

Click here for printable recipe on Kraftrecipes.com



Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Recipe by Kraft Foods

Ingredients

25 NABISCO Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)

1/2 cup finely chopped PLANTERS Pecans

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar, divided

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Dash ground cloves

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F

Mix crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan.

Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Remove 1-1/2 cups batter. Stir remaining sugar (1/4 cup), pumpkin and spices into remaining batter.

Spoon half the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. Repeat layers; swirl with knife.

Bake 45 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Make it Easy:  Line pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Use foil handles to lift chilled cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.

How to Prepare Cheesecake in Springform Pan:  To bake cheesecake in 9-inch springform pan instead, prepare as directed increasing the bake time to 55 min. to 1 hour 5 min or until center is almost set.

Cheesecake Tip:  To help avoid cracks in your cheesecake, place Springform pan in a baking pan.  Add boiling water to baking pan about 1 inch in depth.  Make sure to wrap bottom and sides of Cheesecake pan with tin foil to prevent water from seeping into pan.  The water surrounds the cheesecake with gentle even heat, reducing the chance of a cracked top.

Photo courtesy of Cuisine at Home

I love the swirl effect.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Gift/Packaging Idea -  Make these Cheesecake Bars in a nice 9 x 13 pan, like these personalized, engraved pans from The Cake Pan Lady.  Give pumpkin bars and pan to your mom, sister, grandmother, aunt, friend, hostess of party or anyone on your gift list.  If putting out on your dessert table or office party, cut in bars and place on a nice holiday platter or silver tray.  Watch them disappear!

Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake

If you are watching your diet or your amount of sweets, you may not want to continue on this page.  But I hope you stay.  Why?  Beacause I want to share this fantastic cheesecake with you.  A little piece won't hurt.  (I promise) 

I made this cheesecake for Easter Sunday.  I have only made a few cheesecakes in my lifetime.  I love cheesecake and they are really easy to make.  I don't know why I haven't made more.  It's probably a good thing because as we all know cheesecake is on the fattening side.  But I did use reduced fat cream cheese and reduced fat whipped topping.  Cut calories and fat where you can.  

I have to say I was impressed with myself.  The cheesecake came out perfectly.  The crust is a vanilla wafer crust, then you have the cream cheese filling and then you have a cream cheese/whipped cream layer for the topping.  We were enjoying this cheesecake all week.  

Cheescakes always look like a special dessert.  This would be perfect for Mother's Day or if you had friends over for dinner.  Come up with a special occasion to make this dessert.  Oh heck, who needs a special occasion, just do it.  It will make you and those eating it very happy!

Click here for the Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake on Kraftrecipes.com

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  If you want to make cheesecakes, you have to have a Springform pan.  They are easily found in any major retailer like Walmart and Target.  I bought a 3 piece Wilton set similar to this one at Walmart years ago and they work just fine.  Also, cheesecakes use several packages of cream cheese.  My grocery store often has cream cheese on sale 5 for $5.00.  That's when I stock up.  So, with the right pan and your main ingredient (cream cheese) on hand, there's no excuse and you'll be ready to make a homemade cheesecake.

Cooking Light Week - Day Seven: Triple-Chocolate Cheesecake

"This is light!", my husband exclaimed as he ate his slice of triple-chocolate cheesecake. Yes it is! This "light" version of cheesecake is smooth, rich & full of chocolaty goodness. I've only made a few simple cheesecake recipes in the past. I challenged myself and boy am I glad I did. It had several steps to it but it was very easy to make and it turned out absolutely delicious. I compared this recipe to other similar cheesecake recipes and found that most cheesecake recipes use more butter in the crust, full fat cream cheese, more eggs and full fat sour cream. You don't need it, trust me. This gives the presence of an elegant, decadent dessert. Great for a dinner party or a family event or when you want to make an impression.

(See bottom of post for my first blog award I received)

Triple-Chocolate Cheesecake

Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon stick margarine
1 tablespoon egg white
1 1/3 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)
Vegetable cooking spray
3 tablespoons dark rum (I used light rum)
3 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1 (8-ounce) block nonfat cream cheese, softened (I ended up using 2 reduced fat blocks of cream cheese since that's what I had in my fridge)
1 (8-ounce) block Neufchâtel cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
Chocolate curls (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Place first 3 ingredients in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until blended. Add crumbs; stir well. Firmly press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes; let cool on a wire rack.

Combine rum and chocolate squares in the top of a double boiler. Cook over simmering water 2 minutes or until chocolate melts, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; add chocolate syrup, stirring until smooth.

Preheat oven to 300°. Place cheeses in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth. Add 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, vanilla, and salt; beat until smooth. Add rum mixture; beat at low speed until well-blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan; bake at 300° for 40 minutes or until almost set. Combine sour cream, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 2 teaspoons cocoa; stir well. Turn oven off, and spread sour cream mixture over cheesecake. Let cheesecake stand for 45 minutes in oven with door closed. Remove cheesecake from oven, and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired.

My daughter Mariah learning how to press crumbs in a pan. She did a good job.

Look at that cheesecake filling!

A Perfect Slice

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: Don't be afraid to try recipes that seem a little more difficult or with ingredients you've never used before. Now, of course, my motto is simple, quick and easy but sometimes if you push yourself to try something new, everyone will reap the taste rewards.

My Award!

I was so surprised and pleased when Barbara from Barbara Bakes passed on this blog award to me. I'm new to this world of food blogging and it's so nice that people are visiting my site and recognizing me. Check out Barbara's wonderful blog for some great recipe ideas. Thank you Barbara!

I'm going to pass on this award to 2 great blogs that I've been following:

Prudence Pennywise - I have been following this blog for about a year now and I love it. I have tried several of her recipes and each one has turned out delicious.

Cooking Stuff - I have only recently begun to follow this blog. His posts are humorous and his variety of recipes look great.

This has been a great week of sharing Cooking Light recipes and pairing up with my sister-in-law, Aggie, over at Aggie's Kitchen. Here's a look back at the recipes we presented this week:

Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce

Kung Pao Chicken

Chicken with Cashew Cream and Mushrooms

New Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Steak and Fennel Sandwiches

Grilled Teriyaki Shrimp Kabobs

Triple-Chocolate Cheesecake

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

Thank you and Happy Memorial Day!