Easy Sopapilla Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

• FOR THE BARS:
• 2 cans (8 Oz. Size) Crescent Roll Dough
• 2 packages (8 Oz. Size) Cream Cheese, Softened
• ⅝ cups Sugar
• 2 cups Pumpkin Puree
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoons Ginger
• ½ teaspoons Nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoons Allspice
• ½ cups Butter, Melted
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• ½ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• Honey (optional, For Serving)
• Toasted Pecans (optional, For Serving; Directions Included)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a glass 9×13 inch baking dish. Unroll one can of crescent roll dough (all in one piece) and lay it in the dish, pressing it out to cover the bottom and pinching any seams together.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, and beat to combine. Spread this mixture over the crescent roll dough in your pan. Unroll the other can of crescent roll dough and lay it on top of the pumpkin cheesecake mixture. (I actually found it easier to lay it on some plastic wrap secured over a cutting board. This gave me a surface on which to pinch the seams closed and make it into one big rectangular sheet. I then used the plastic wrap to “flip” it carefully over onto the cheesecake mixture.)

For the topping, in a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.

Pour melted butter over top of crescent roll dough and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar topping evenly across the surface. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: While the bars bake, you can also toast the pecans on another rack, just spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for about 6 minutes or until fragrant, stirring about halfway through the cook time. Transfer nuts to a plate to cool.

Let bars cool completely before covering them and placing them in the refrigerator to chill for at least a couple of hours (I left mine overnight). Cut into squares, heat for just about 20 seconds to take off the chill, and serve with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of toasted pecans.