Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars made with a gingersnap crust, a creamy pumpkin cheesecake layer & topped with caramel sauce. Easy pumpkin cheesecake recipe even more delicious than pumpkin pie!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars – one of my favorite fall recipes. I absolutely love cheesecake, and in the fall I really love everything pumpkin, so pumpkin cheesecake is practically a dream come true. My husband is a pumpkin pie lover and declared that this dessert is “even better than pumpkin pie.”
Ingredients in Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Gingersnap cookies – You’ll need about 36 of them, finely crushed. This will make about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. You could use graham cracker crumbs like you do in traditional cheesecake, but the gingersnaps just add so much flavor and the crust pairs so perfectly with the pumpkin flavor.
Butter – The butter holds all of the crumbs together to form the crust.
Cream cheese – Any variety will work. You can use regular cream cheese, or a low-fat or non fat version. Just make sure to soften the cream cheese before adding to the mixture so that it will mix smoothly.
Sugar – Gotta have sugar!
Pumpkin – Use one 15 oz can of pumpkin. Make sure NOT to use pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin puree. You can use a homemade version if you prefer.
Pumpkin Pie Spice – A fall staple. Delicious mix of cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and ground nutmeg.
Vanilla – The higher the quality, the better.
Eggs – You’ll need 4 of them to get the perfect cheesecake texture, so don’t leave those out!
Caramel topping – You can find this by all the other ice cream toppings. It is just to put on top, so it is completely optional, but don’t leave it off!
Whipped cream – Another optional ingredient, but necessary in my book! Can use homemade whipped cream, the spray kind in the can, or Cool Whip works great too!
How to make Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Preheat oven to 325°. Crush ginger snaps (I used my blender), and mix with the melted butter. Press onto the bottom of a 9X13 pan.
Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until well blended. Add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla and mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each one just until blended.
Pour the mixture over the crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until center is almost completely set.
Cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Cut into squares just before serving and drizzle each serving with caramel topping and serve with whipped cream.
PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BARS
Ingredients
- 38 Ginger Snap cookies finely crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 4 pkg 8 oz each cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 15 oz pumpkin
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
- Caramel topping and whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Crush ginger snaps (I used my blender), and mix with the melted butter. Press onto the bottom of a 9X13 pan.
- Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until well blended.
- Add pumpkin, spice and vanilla and mix well.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each one just until blended.
- Pour the mixture over the crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until center is almost completely set.
- Cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
- Cut into squares just before serving and drizzle each serving with caramel topping and serve with whipped cream. Enjoy!
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HOW DO YOU CUT A CHEESECAKE WITHOUT STICKING TO A KNIFE?
The trick is to use a large and very sharp knife that’s been warmed up. By running your knife under warm water (or dipping it in a cup of warm water) you can heat it just enough that it glides through cooled cheesecake with less resistance and sticking to the knife allowing for a much cleaner cut!
CAN I FREEZE SHEET PAN CHEESECAKE BARS?
Absolutely! This is a great way to keep the flavor going long after the party ends. Just cut your slices into serving sized pieces and then flash freeze on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours before wrapping and transferring to an airtight container, or stacking them with a layer of wax paper between. This way you can get the flavors you want without the pieces sticking together. They last up to a month in the freezer.
HOW TO SOFTEN CREAM CHEESE
You can soften cream cheese by simply letting it sit on the countertop for 2-3 hours, until it comes to room temperature. Using room temperature cream cheese is vital. I don’t know if you are like me but I always forget to take the cream cheese out of the fridge! An easy way to soften the cream cheese is to use the defrost function on your microwave. Place the cream cheese, unwrapped, in a bowl, then select the lowest setting on defrost. Mine usually takes about 45 seconds. That’s it! Then proceed with the recipe.
HERE ARE MORE RECIPES WITH PUMPKIN TO TRY:
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- Apple Pumpkin Bread
- Gingersnap Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Apple Butter recipe
- Spice Pumpkin Caramels
- BEST Pumpkin Recipes Ever
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze
- Layered No-Bake Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Chiffon Cake
- Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
- Pumpkin Pie Bars
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars made with a gingersnap crust, a creamy pumpkin cheesecake layer & topped with caramel sauce. Easy pumpkin cheesecake recipe even more delicious than pumpkin pie!
Britni says
These were so good! I could’ve eaten just the crust and been happy!
Kaylie says
The crust is always the best part! Thank you, Britni!
Katie says
Looks delicious, can’t wait to try this one!