Bring the fullness of fall flavors and holiday indulgence to your senses with these mini maple pumpkin cheesecake bars.

Pumpkin cheesecake is the perfect surprise alternative to the otherwise expected pumpkin pie offering at your holiday dessert table. Cheesecake is just a bit more of everything – creamy, comforting, filling, delicious, and decadent. In this recipe, you don’t even need cream cheese to catch that drool-worthy iconic cheesecake richness – full-fat yogurt does the job well enough! The aromas offered by ground cinnamon, allspice, and ground ginger add even more warmth to the homey flavors of almond meal, pumpkin, and maple syrup. No white flour, white sugar, or butter is needed. The result is a sugar and gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake recipe that is easy on the eyes, taste buds, and figure.

Mini Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Serves 10-15

For the crust

• 2 cups almond meal flour
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For the filling

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 1 cup full-fat yogurt
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons tapiocha
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Dash of allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use coconut oil spray to coat the bottom and edges of a 9×13-inch pan.

In a bowl, mix together the almond meal, coconut oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined. Pour the crust mixture into the pan and use clean hands to distribute the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan. Press until the crust is firmly in place.

Place the pan in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside.

For the cheesecake filling, add all the ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture over the crust. Bake the cheesecake in the oven for 45-55 minutes or until the cheesecake has cooked through and doesn’t jiggle in the middle. Keep an eye on the pumpkin cheesecake for the last 10-15 minutes just to make sure it doesn’t overcook.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool for at least 1 hour at room temperature before you transfer it to cool further in the refrigerator.

Slice the cheesecake into 10-15 bars and serve each with a whipped cream topping!

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Pumpkin Pie Bars Image from Shutterstock

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