Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

It's fall y'all!! 
Make sure you say that phrase in a southern accent like Paula Deen.  It just doesn't feel right unless you say it that way.  Go ahead and try it, I'll wait....
..................

See what I mean?

But seriously ya'll, it's fall.  There's no denying it now.  We've had snow already!!  Can you believe it?  It didn't last long, but still....it snowed.  And I had to bust out my winter Uggs and mittens.  No more flip flops for this girl.  So I suppose it's time to just suck it up and embrace the season.

I suppose one good thing about fall would be all the fabulous foods that are in season, particularly pumpkin.  Canadian Thanksgiving was just last weekend and we had our first pumpkin pie of the season.  I only had one small piece and it left me craving more.  I was craving pumpkin, but I knew I wanted something a little more "over-the-top" than just your run-of-the-mill pumpkin pie.  So I made pumpkin cheesecake bars.

Look Mom, no cracks!!

Decadent pumpkin cheesecake, nestled between a buttery ginger snap crust and a fluffy vanilla whipped cream topping.  You can sprinkle with nuts, or cinnamon, and serve this delight to all your family and friends. Or hide it in your fridge and keep it for yourself.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

2 cups finely ground ginger snap cookies

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 pkgs (250 g each) cream cheese, softened  *I used Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground allspice

2 eggs

1 pkg (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup cold milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crush the ginger snap cookies into a fine crumb.  I used a food processor. I used almost a whole bag of Voortman ginger snap cookies to make 2 cups of crumbs.  Pour melted butter over crumbs and mix until all crumbs are coated.  Press onto the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended.  Add pumpkin and spices and mix until well combined. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low until just blended.

Pour over baked crust and bake for 30 minutes or until the center is almost set.  Cool for 1 hour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat whipping cream until just starting to thicken.  Add pudding mix and milk.  The pudding will cause the cream to thicken quickly.  You can always add more milk if you find it to be too thick.  I continued to beat the mixture for about 2-3 minutes to reach my desired thickness.

Spread the whipped cream mixture over the cooled cheesecake.  Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm.  

Garnish with nuts, or sprinkle with cinnamon.

Recipe adapted from Kraft Canada