Pumpkin Spice Magic Bars Mini's (Picky Palate)

So this fun little treat is a recipe I got from Picky Palate. I have always loved the Magic Bars (recipe on back of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk) Jenny-Picky Palate blogger kicked it up a notch by adding pumpkin to them. It is a fun variation. Mine never turn out as pretty as hers (guess I need to put the William Sonoma mini-cheesecake pan on my wish list!). I used muffin tins and mini muffin tins (Wish I would have taken a picture of the bite size morsels they were a hit.) I did double the batch and got 12 regular and 24 mini's using regular muffin pans. I didn't drizzle it with the extra carmel, but it is a fun touch.

1/4 Cup melted butter

3/4 Cup graham cracker crumbs

2 oz softened cream cheese

3/4 Cup pumpkin puree, Libby’s

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 Cup chocolate chips

1/2 Cup coarsely chopped cashews

3/4 Cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 Cup sweetened condensed milk

Caramel ice cream topping to drizzle (or make your own if you’d rather)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place melted butter and graham cracker crumbs into a bowl; mix to combine. Press into the bottom of mini cheesecake cups. Bake for 8 minutes then remove from oven.

2. In a bowl beat the pumpkin, softened cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon until smooth. Spoon evenly over each graham cracker crust, about 2 small spoonfuls. Next layer chocolate chips evenly over pumpkin layer following with cashews, coconut and condensed milk. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove and let cool. *Before bars completely cool, take a plastic knife and run around edges to loosen. It becomes very sticky and difficult to remove from the cups if you do not loosen.

3. Once cooled, carefully remove from cups and arrange onto serving tray. Drizzle with warm caramel and serve.