Recipe: Skinny Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

Skinny Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

UPDATE: The secret to this recipe is to let the bars set overnight in the fridge! It makes all the difference in the world! YES!!! I WILL be making them again! Will just do it the day BEFORE I need them instead of the day of! Please ignore my comments below! :)

 

I posted in a previous post that I first saw this recipe on Facebook and have been waiting to make it. I got the ingredients to do so, but, to be honest, after making it, I'm not sure that I even like the recipe. It's not at all what I expected. My husband likes it, but, to me, there's just not a whole lot of flavor. I am posting the recipe anyway for those who might like to try it.

 

SKINNY PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE BARS

 

1 box angel food cake mix - the one-step kind

1 15-oz. can pumpkin

3/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 8 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese

a few tablespoons water to be mixed with cream cheese

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

Let the cream cheese soften on the counter for a while. Then, use a mixer and beat it with a couple of tablespoons of water until smooth.

 

In a separate bowl, mix the cake mix, pumpkin, 3/4 cup water, and cinnamon together until it is smooth and well mixed.

 

Spray a 9" x 13" glass pan with cooking spray. Add half of the cake and pumpkin mixture and smooth out evenly with a spatula. Drizzle half of the cream cheese over the top of it and smooth. Add remaining cake and pumpkin mixture and then the remaining cream cheese in layers. Finally, take a butter knife and stick it into the mix and move it back and forth in figure eights to blend it in a bit.

 

Bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean.