Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Squares

This is a good one for Thanksgiving.  Really rich.  Very easy.  The recipe came out of the October Bon Appetit.

You need a 9 X 9 X 2 inch metal baking pan.  Set the oven to 350.  You need a food processor for this.  Generously butter the metal baking dish.

Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup golden brown sugar
1/2 t. kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup pecan halves
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

Put the top four ingredients in a food processor.  Pulsate until this becomes coarse.  Then add the pecans and pulsate again.  Now add the oats, pulsate again until the mixture is moist but not clumped.  Take 3 1/2 cups of this mixture and put it into the baking pan.  Evenly spread the mixture over the bottom and push down.  Put in the oven for 30 minutes or until browned.  Take the remaining part of the mixture and toast on a baking sheet until browned (10 minutes?).

Filling:
1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger

Using the food processor (don’t clean it down from the crust) blend all the ingredients until smooth. 
Spread filling over the warm crust, bake until set, dry in the middle and the ends are beginning to rise.  About 20 minutes.

For Topping:

1 cup sour cream
2 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients for the topping and spread evenly over the top of the filling.  Bake for about 5 minutes or until bubbling on the sides. 

Take the toasted crumbs and spread evenly over the top with your hands.  Don’t use a spatula.  Cover and chill until cold. 

I cut these into small bite sized squares.  Eating a large square might put you over the top.