Creamy, rich Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Gingersnap Crust, topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice!
I’ve come to a conclusion. Pumpkin + gingerbread flavors were made for each other. In that peanut butter + jelly, milk + cookies, cupcakes + sprinkles kind of way.
The crust on these cheesecake bars is where. it’s. at. Made with gingersnap cookie crumbs, butter, cinnamon and sugar – I could eat the whole thing straight up, no cheesecake layer required.
But the truth is that we are adding a cheesecake layer. A pumpkin cheesecake layer. Why? Because we can and it makes that gingersnap crust just that much more incredible.
And look, I’ll even let you have the first bite…
Try this No-Bake Cheesecake recipe next!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Gingersnap Crust
Ingredients
- 40 gingersnap cookies
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons butter - melted and cooled mostly
Cheesecake Layer
- 16 ounces cream cheese - softened
- ½ cup pumpkin puree - (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 egg - at room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice spice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Topping
- whipped cream
- chopped pecans
- pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil and lightly grease.
- In a food processor combine the gingersnap cookies, sugar, and cinnamon and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter and pulse again until mixture is completely moistened.
- Press gingersnap mixture into the bottom of your prepared baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While crust is baking, prepare the cheesecake layer.
- Mix together egg and sugar until light and foamy. Add cream cheese, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Pour over baked crust.
- Return pan to oven for 25-30 minutes until cheesecake layer is set. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10-25 minutes, then transfer to fridge to chill completely. Cut into squares and top with whipping cream, chopped nuts, and sprinkled cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice and serve.
I have the same question that a couple of other reviewers have asked. I don’t see the question adequately answered. How many cups of crushed gingersnaps is needed for this recipe? Gingersnaps come in all sizes and thickness so 40 gingersnaps will generate vastly different amounts of crumbs depending on the brand/type of gingersnap one is crushing. I do see where Tiffany says 15 of her cookies equals a cup. That seems to mean that 40 of Tiffany’s cookies would equal about 2 2/3 cups. Is 2 2/3 cups of crumbs the amount needed for this recipe? I’d love to try this for Thanksgiving but am not going to guess on amounts. If it’s possible to answer this repeated question, it would be super helpful!
We’re you able to successfully double the recipe for a 9×13 pan? What was the time/temperature? Thank you!