Creamy, rich Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Gingersnap Crust, topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice!
Want more ways to enjoy pumpkin this season? Head on over to my Pumpkin Brownies, Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, and Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread next!
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’m always confused about pumpkin. I’m used to using Libby’s packed pumpkin. Is that the same as purée?
DELICIOUS! I dOubled the recipe…worked great. Can the bars be FROZEN?
Yes, I think they could!
These were delicious! Made exactly as written and tUrned out perfectly.
So thrilled to hear that! Thanks, Monica!
Thank you for the recipe. Your version looks delicious, but here are a few things I wish were written out here for clarification, bc Mine did not turn out: There are many types of gingersnap cookies. The 40 cookies I used I guess were too large bc it turned out to be way too many for the crust. roughly what should the 40 cookies yield in cups? Secondly, you must make sure the cream cheese is completely softened or batter will be lumpy. Third, It is finished when slightly jiggly still in the middle. it needs to cool at room temp for about an hour and be refrigerated ideally overnight or at least 6 hours to set. i really wish i’d known that, bc I made these for an xmas party day of and they didn’t have time to chill adequately. bc of the crust and lack of chill time i couldn’t use them.
Hi Mary- sorry to hear that you weren’t completely satisfied with this recipe. I haven’t experienced the issues that you ran into, but thank you for sharing your input.
Ran into the same issue. It’s 200 grams of cookies.
Hi. DOes this double nicely for a big crOwd?? If so, if i double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan, what will the Cooking time be fOr the crust and then the entire cheesecake?
Thanks.
I just made these and wondered about the equivalent measurement of cookies. i just read the comments and see that it should’ve equaled one cup. mine made a lot more so my crust is super thick!
Do you Have an idea of what 40 gingersnaps equate to in cups? I have gingersnap cookies that I WOUld like to use But they Are THicker than normal gingersnaps.
Hi Kristen- i’d say about 15 or so cookies will be equal to 1 cup of crumbs.
Pan size
I had a problem with this recipe and I think I know what was wrong but I hoped to run it by you to see if you agree. The taste of the cheesecake and the gingersnap crust was wonderful, and I would like to make again. When I went to cut my bars, the cheesecake stuck to the knife and pulled apart from the crust and literally made a big mess. I was cooking just for my husband and myself, so I didn’t mind having the bars look misshaped and as I said the taste was to-die-for. The only thing I did differently was the cream cheese I used was Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese, and this may have made the difference in the consistency of the cheesecake. Next time I will use regular Philly and hopefully I can cut them better. If you or your followers have any additional advice, I would love to read the comments. Thanks
recipe looks great and I will try it.
Looks marvelous! How did you get the squares to cut so perfectly?
Thanks Laura! I just used a really sharp chopping knife with a straight edge!
This looks absolutely beautiful!
Thank you so much!!
Wish I had these a couple hours ago for breakfast!
Looks divine!
Oh, yum! I LOVE pumpkin all the things!
Oh yummy girl! This looks amazing!