“Better Than Pumpkin Pie” Bars

         

Thanksgiving is always a special holiday in our family.  We enjoy getting together and stuffing ourselves with all kinds of great tasting food.  But we always tend to make the same old boring dishes again and again.  So I started experimenting with desserts that contain that famous Thanksgiving ingredient: pumpkin.  This is a take on one of my favorite holiday bars: Magic Cookie Bars.  Once you have the crust down you just start layering in everything else.  Easy to do and oh so good.  This is my new go-to dessert for Thanksgiving.  I think it will be yours too!

 

1/2 package Nilla wafers, finely crushed

½ cup (one stick) butter, melted

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 can (14  oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin

½ t. pumpkin pie spice

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup white baking chips

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Drizzle crushed wafers with melted butter in a small bowl and mix to combine.  Press into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, condensed milk and pie spice until smooth.  Add pumpkin and mix until blended.  Pour over crust.  Layer with coconut, white chips, cranberries and pecans. Press down slightly.  Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top.  Cool in dish on wire rack for 10 minutes, then run knife around edges to loosed sides.  Cool completely.  Cut into bars.  Refrigerate any leftovers.  Enjoy!