Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

2 cups gingersnap crumbs
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
32 ounces (4 packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch cake pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang.
2. Mix gingersnap crumbs, sugar and melted butter together. Press mixture evenly into prepared pan and bake for 8-10 minutes, until fragrant. Set aside to cool and lower oven to 325 degrees.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream cream cheese on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add cornstarch and continue to mix until fully incorporated. Add sugar and continue to mix until smooth and incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.
4. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time followed by vanilla extract. Stir in heavy cream. Pour about 1 and 1/4 cups of vanilla cheesecake batter into a separate bowl and set aside.
5. In a small bowl, stir together pumpkin, light brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add to remaining batter in the mixer, and mix on low just until combined. Pour pumpkin cheesecake batter on top of the crust. Using a small spoon, drop vanilla cheesecake batter on top of the pumpkin batter. Using the tip of a sharp knife or toothpick, gently cut through the batter in a “figure 8” to create a swirl effect.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until the cheesecake is set on top. Set cheesecake bars on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Once bars are room temperature, transfer to fridge and chill overnight.
7. To cut bars, lift chilled bars out of pan by the parchment overhang and set on cutting board. Slice bars with a clean, sharp knife. Store bars in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.