Love the flavors of pumpkin pie, but don't want to bother making a pie crust? Make these Pumpkin Pie Bars with a crunchy bottom, creamy pumpkin filling, and topped with a streusal topping and chopped pecans.
Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Make sure to extend the foil over the edges of the pan so you can remove from the pan after baking. Lightly grease the aluminum foil with cooking spray.
Combine the flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl and toss with a fork. Add the pieces of butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry blender or a KitchenAid Mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs. Mix in the oats and chopped pecans.
Reserve 1 cup of the crust mixture and set aside. Add the remaining crust mixture to the prepared baking pan and press onto the bottom of the pan in an even layer. Bake the crust alone in the oven for 15 minutes.
For the Filling
While the crust bakes, make the filling. In a KitchenAid Stand Mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer) beat the cream cheese and sugar for one minute.
Scrape the sides of the bowl down, then add in the eggs on at a time on low speed. Add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 30 seconds until smooth and well combined.
Once the crust has been removed from the oven, pour the filling into the pan and smooth over the crust. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture on top. Then evenly sprinkle the butterscotch chips on top.
Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Then, slice and serve.
Notes
Wet Ingredients - Do not add all the wet ingredients together at one time. It is important to cream sugar and cream cheese together before adding each egg. This will allow for no clumping of the batter and will yield a smooth creamy filling.
Rest - These bars need to rest for at least 30 minutes. They are best if you can wait the additional 2 hours to chill in the refrigerator.
Servings - This recipe makes 15 large bars. You could easily get more if you cut them into smaller size pieces.