No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
This rich and creamy No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars recipe is the best of fall flavor in one dessert. A rich ginger snap crust with a pumpkin cheesecake layer made with a rich brown sugar whipped cream folded into a pumpkin cream cheese mixture will wow your guests this season. A quick and easy recipe that will be a family favorite!
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 ¼ c ginger snap cookie crumbs approx. 4 c cookies
- 7 T unsalted butter melted
- 2 T brown sugar packed
- pinch of sea salt
Pumpkin cheesecake
- 2 blocks cream cheese (8 oz. each) softened
- ¾ c white sugar
- 2 T confectioner's sugar
- ½ c sour cream room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 c pumpkin
- 2½ tsp pumpkin spice
- 1 c heavy whipping cream very cold
- ¼ c brown sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the ginger snap crust. Process the ginger cookies in a food processor until a fine crumb. Transfer to a bowl and combine with melted butter, brown sugar and sea salt. Stir until fully combined and a nice crumbly texture. Press FIRMLY into a 9x9 inch square baking pan lined with parchment. Freeze for about 15-30 minutes.
- Prepare the pumpkin cheesecake filling. Start out by creaming the cream cheese, white sugar and confectioner's sugar with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer in a large bowl.
- Add in the vanilla and room temperature sour cream and mix until smooth. Finally beat in the pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Set aside.
- Combine the brown sugar and very cold whipping cream in a separate bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks begin to form. Very gently fold the brown sugar whipped cream into the pumpkin cream cheese mixture until no streaks appear.
- Remove the crust from the freezer and transfer the cheesecake mixture to the crust, spreading evenly with a spatula or an offset spatula for best results.
- Chill. Cover the pumpkin cheesecake bars tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and chill for at least about 6-8 hours (4 hours is the bare minimum, but will still not be fully set.) but ideally overnight before cutting into bars to serve!
Notes
- Storage: Store leftover cheesecake bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can store the leftovers sliced or unsliced, up to you. To freeze, allow the cheesecake to chill in the refrigerator for about 12 hours to fully set before transferring to a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months and allow to thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
- For best results, allow the cheesecake to chill for 8-12 hours if possible, or even overnight. The longer you allow this pumpkin cheesecake to chill in the refrigerator before serving, the better. 4 hours is a minimum, but for it to really set, ideally you would chill it overnight and serve it the next day.
- For smooth and easy slicing, run a sharp knife under HOT water first. You can pop these cheesecake bars in the freezer for about 10 minutes before slicing to help get nice smooth slices. Wipe the hot knife dry and slice, wiping clean between slices and running under the hot water again for about 30 seconds a couple times more.
- Even though these are cheesecake "bars" they are still better eaten with a fork or spoon. They firm up really well, but any cheesecake can get a bit messy. If you want them to be more of a finger food, you can press the crust mixture into mini muffin cups and then spoon the cheesecake mixture into each muffin cavity. You can serve them as bite sized eats!
Nutrition
Calories: 449kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 248mg | Potassium: 201mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 1887IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 2mg