Egg Free Pumpkin Pie Bars

I love autumn with the same passion and intensity that I hate the summer. The weather cools, the humidity dies down, and I can finally venture outside and breath simultaneously. One of the things I love most about fall is pumpkin! I am a pumpkin fanatic, I love EVERYTHING pumpkin. Sweet dishes, savory dishes, candles, soap, serving platters, pumpkin patches...if it has to do with pumpkin I am all over it. So you will be seeing a number of pumpkin dishes in the near future.

The challenge this year being that little man has an egg allergy. I figured if I wanted time to perfect an egg free, soy free pumpkin pie filling I better start now. I didn't go to the trouble of making a pie crust because I wasn't sure it was going to work. I just crushed up some organic graham crackers and made a graham cracker crust in the bottom of my 8x8 baking dish. This worked fabulously. It is more creamy and less spicy than your average pumpkin pie (probably also higher on calories...shhh), but it held it's shape and we all enjoyed it. So it was a success in my book.

I can't wait to try this filling in a pie crust now that I know it works. Baking times are for the 8x8 dish. Use any sort of crust you like. I didn't really measure....or pay attention to how I made the crust. I'm great at this whole food blogging thing, aren't I?

2 packages of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cardamom

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave. Slowly stir in sugar.

Stir in pumpkin and spices. Adjust spices to taste preference.

Pour into crust. I baked mine for 50 minutes at 350. Let cool.

I'm so excited that our little man will be able to enjoy egg free, soy free pumpkin pie this year. If your intent is to make this dish egg free, soy free, be sure to check all the ingredients you use carefully!

UPDATE: I've made this quite a few times now, and this should definitely be made ahead of time to ensure time to set in the fridge. Also, while not absolutely necessary, using an electric mixer will produce the best results.