Sopapilla Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Yield: about 15-20 bars 

I first saw the recipe for Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars on Cookies and Cups and decided to give them some pumpkin love. In these bars, two layers of premade crescent roll dough sandwich a thick layer of simple pumpkin cheesecake — it couldn’t get easier and quicker! The top bakes into a crisp, buttery cinnamon-sugar “sopapilla.” I served the bars heated up a few seconds (just to remove the chill), sprinkled with toasted pecans, and drizzled with a little honey. 

 Bar Ingredients:

 2 cans crescent rolls

 2 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

 2 cup canned pumpkin

 5/8 cup sugar

 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon*

 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice*

 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg*

 1/2 teaspoon ginger*

 *or substitute 2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for these spices.

 Topping Ingredients:

 1/2 cup butter, melted (for topping)

 1/2 cup sugar (for topping)

 1 teaspoon cinnamon (for topping)

 Optional Extras:

 honey

 toasted pecans (see directions below)

 Directions:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 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 over 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). 

 In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Pour melted butter over top of crescent roll dough and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture evenly across the surface. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. 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.

Recipe Source: http://willowbirdbaking.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/easy-sopapilla-pumpkin-cheesecake-bars/