Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Making The Crust

1. Line a 9x13 glass pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place half of the graham crackers in a food processor and blend until there are fine crumbs. Pour crumbs into a medium-sized bowl. Repeat with the remaining graham crackers, adding the crumbs to the bowl.
3. Add melted butter to the graham cracker crumbs and stir. Pour the cookie mixture into the prepared glass pan, spreading evenly in the pan. With a second piece of parchment paper and the back of a ½ cup measuring cup press the graham cracker crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.
4. Bake the crumbs for 10 minutes.  Allow the pan to cool completely.

Making The Cheesecake Filling

1. Cut the softened cream cheese into cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer whip the cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the sugar and the vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Blend until fully mixed into the cream cheese.
3. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat them quickly with a fork, mixing well. Add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture half at a time, mixing them into the cream cheese each time until smooth with an electric mixer. Add the sour cream to the cream cheese mixture and gently mix until just combined.

Making The Pumpkin Filling

1. In a medium bowl, add pumpkin puree, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice, then mix well. Add 2 cups of the cheesecake filling, setting the rest of the cheesecake filling to the side. Mix the pumpkin mixture with the cheesecake mixture until combined.
2. Scoop about ½ cup at a time and fill the pan with pumpkin filling and cheesecake filling, alternating between the two fillings.
3. Using a knife, swirl pumpkin filling with cheesecake filling. Lift the pan and lightly tap on the counter to settle the filling into the pan.

Baking The Bars

1. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 325 degrees Farenheight. The center will be set with a little wiggle in the middle. You can test by holding the pan with hot pads and gently rolling the pan from left to right just a little. The top center of the pan should not look super liquidy but will still jiggle a little. The top of the bars should be dry when touched lightly.
2. Cool the pumpkin cheesecake bars for 1 hour, then place in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Slice into 24 pieces, then serve and enjoy!