Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Source: adapted from myrecipes.com

Ingredients:
for the crust:
20 oreos (I actually used 1 sleeve of chocolate grahams - made about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs)
2 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (whoops - my had salt - no biggie!)

for the filling:
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, at room temperature (whoops - forgot to take those out when I took out the cream cheese - no biggie!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I didn't have any so I used a concoction of what I did have: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg + 1/8 teaspoon cloves.  Adapted from this recipe with what I had.)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch-square pan with foil so that foil overhangs sides. Mist with cooking spray. (I did the lining an 8x8 pan and misting with cooking spray step - and then when I had the crust baked and done and ready for the filling to be poured in I realized there was NO WAY all that filling was going to fit in my pan.  So I dumped the crumbs into a 9x13 (un-lined and un-sprayed), patted them down gently, and poured away.  Worked fine.  And fit like a glove.)
2. Make crust: Process cookies in food processor until ground. Pulse in butter. Press evenly into pan. Bake until firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly.
3. Make filling: With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin, then eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla, flour, spice and salt until just combined.
4. Pour mixture into pan. Put pan on a large rimmed baking sheet; place in oven. Pour hot water into baking sheet until it's nearly filled. Bake until cheesecake is set around edges but jiggles slightly in center, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove pan from sheet; cool completely on rack. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 3 hours.

Notes:
Gregg has been (not so) subtly hinting at how much he has been wishing for cheesecake lately, so when we were at the store this week, we grabbed some cream cheese (not usually on our list) with the intention of making these.  We also needed to grab nutella in order to make that recipe, but after suffering from the sticker shock for said ingredient, we put it back on the shelf and decided to try something else.  (We're really cheap.)  I got looking at my pinterest cookbook board and discovered a plethora of cheesecake recipes, many involving pumpkin, which is something I had on hand as well as something that fits in with the lovely season we're in right now.  So it was settled.  And I got busy baking.  Gregg was out of town yesterday for a conference, so he didn't get home till much later than usual, but luckily it was just enough time for the 3 hour cooling of these bars to be complete.  Perfect timing for a perfect surprise.

And so delicious!  They taste just like pumpkin pie in a light and fluffy cheesecake form.  I liked the chocolate from the grahams in the crust, but I think they'd be equally delicious with a gingersnap crust - I'll try that next time.  Now our only problem is finishing off a huge pan of cheesecake by ourselves - anyone want to visit?  :)