Pumpkin Cheesecake Brûlée Bars

These pumpkin cheesecake cars are taken to another level when you brûlée the top. You get several different textures that make this a rich and satisfying dessert. This is a perfect fall dessert. You and your friends will absolutely love it.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 9 whole graham crackers

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the filling:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree

• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon cloves

For the Brulee Topping:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Instructions:

For the crust:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil, leaving an overhang.

• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned and set, about 8 minutes.

• Remove from oven and sprinkle with the chocolate chips.

• Bake for another 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and smooth the melted chocolate chips with an offset spatula.

• Let cool and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

For the filling

• Place the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and using an electric hand mixer beat until smooth.

• Add the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, flour, salt, and spices and pulse until combined and smooth

• Pour the mixture on top of the crust.

• Carefully place into the oven

• Bake until the cheesecake is set but still slightly jiggly in the center (around 50 minutes)

• Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack to cool completely in the pan.

• Cover and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

• Using the foil overhang, transfer the cheesecake to a work surface and use a big sharp knife to cut it into squares.

For the brulee topping:

• On a heat-safe work surface, sprinkle the tops of each square with sugar and torch the tops with a kitchen torch until it turns a deep amber color. Alternatively, use a broiler to brown the sugar. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Note that the chocolate layer does get a bit hard if these bars are very cold, so you may want to let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.