• Cheese & Culinary
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Butternut Squash Cream Cheese Bars

  • Cheese & Culinary
  • Desserts
  • Butter
Butternut Squash Cream Cheese Bars
8-10
50 min
Butternut Squash Cream Cheese Bars

This delightful dessert combines the earthy sweetness of butternut squash with the creamy richness of cream cheese. The star of the show is cream cheese, which adds a velvety texture to every bite. As you savor these bars, you'll be embraced by the warm and comforting flavors, making them the perfect treat to enjoy during chilly weather.

Ingredients
Cream Cheese Swirl
Method
  1. Preheat your oven to 175°C.
  2. Grease and line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with baking paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg and vanilla on high speed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. On medium speed, beat in the pumpkin until combined. The mixture will look curdled; that’s ok.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice and salt together until combined. On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not overmix. The mixture will be thick. Spread 2/3 of the batter evenly into the prepared pan; it will be a relatively thin layer. The rest will be added later.
  5. In a medium bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer filled with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat on high speed until completely combined. Drop random spoonful’s on top of the pumpkin batter.
  6. Drop the remaining pumpkin batter on top of the spoonful’s of cream cheese. With a rubber spatula or knife, begin gently swirling the two together. Both mixtures are thick, so go slowly. Jiggle the pan back and forth to get the layers to settle into the pan. Don’t worry if it looks messy; everything will come together in nice swirls as it bakes.
  7. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds ontop and then bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Allow the bars to cool completely at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator for about 2 hours before cutting into squares.
  8. Leftover bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

 

 

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