Rich and creamy pumpkin cheesecake paired with a spicy gingersnap crust! This is the perfect dessert to enjoy after your Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving is a month away, which means it's time to start choosing what's going to be on your table this year. Usually the first dessert to come to everyone's mind is Pumpkin Pie, but if you want to take your Thanksgiving dessert up a notch - you've come to the right place. This is like a pumpkin pie in cheesecake form! This dessert will definitely shake things up at your feast and it'll be a fabulous upgrade from your basic pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

This cheesecake is so creamy and delicious. It's packed with a ton of pumpkin and fall spice flavour! I thought my pumpkin pie recipe was an amazing Thanksgiving dessert, but this cheesecake really takes the cake!

Gingersnap Crust

For the crust, I used Gingersnap Cookies. These spicy cookies paired with the creamy pumpkin spice flavour is just unbeatable! You can use graham crackers if you would like, but with the amount of extra flavour the gingersnaps add to this dessert, I really wouldn't recommend replacing it.

First, you will need to crush the cookies into fine crumbs. I prefer to use a food processor since it makes the job a whole lot easier, but you could crush them in a ziploc bag instead. Then I sweetened the cookie crumbs with a bit of sugar and some melted butter to hold it all together.

When you add the crust to the pan, you need to use the bottom of a glass to press it into the bottom so it's nice and flat and even.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling

The pumpkin cheesecake filling is really easy to make. I know cheesecake can be a really intimidating dessert for some people (myself included), but believe me, it couldn't be easier!

3 ingredients in this recipe MUST be at room temperature before you begin: cream cheese, sour cream and eggs. Make sure you remove these three ingredients from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you begin. It's especially important that the cream cheese is softened, because it needs to blend smoothly into the other ingredients.

I baked the cheesecake in a water bath because it prevents the cheesecake from drying, cracking and browning on the top. It also plays a part in making cheesecakes super creamy! I go into more detail on how to prepare a water bath for your cheesecake in the recipe below.

I recommend wrapping your pan at least 2-3 times to guarantee no water ends up in your pan and ruins that crunchy crust. If water does get into your pan during baking, don't worry! The crust will set back up while cooling in the refrigerator and be as good as new.

Once the cheesecake is baked and chilled, I topped it with sweetened whipped cream! I used a Wilton 2D tip and piped a swirl border around the edge of the cheesecake (check out my awesome border piping tutorial), then I dusted the top with pumpkin pie spice! This simple decoration takes your cheesecake from plain to pretty and will wow all your guests!

This Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake will be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving feast. It doesn't require a lot of preparation, although it does take a long time to bake and an even longer time to chill - which is great, because this means you can make it a day before Thanksgiving!

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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

Yield: 10-12 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Inactive Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 10 hours 10 minutes

Rich and creamy pumpkin cheesecake paired with a spiced gingersnap crust! This is the perfect dessert to enjoy after your Thanksgiving dinner.

**Recipe Updated 11/18/2020**

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Ingredients

Crust:

• 3 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 35 cookies)
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoon Unsalted Butter, melted

Pumpkin Cheesecake:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages (24 oz) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (or 3 Tbsp. all purpose flour)
• 2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 2 cups canned pumpkin purée
• ¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature 
• 1 large egg yolk

Sweetened Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
• ⅔ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, for dusting
• Chopped pecans

Instructions

For the Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Make sure the rack is positioned in the centre of the oven. Grease sides of one 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray and add parchment rounds to bottom.
2. In a food processor or using a rolling pin and a large Ziploc bag, crush gingersnap cookies into fine crumbs. In a medium bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter and using a fork, combine the ingredients.
3. Transfer mixture to the greased 9-inch springform pan and, using the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup, press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust until its slightly darkened, 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Lower the oven temperature to 300°F.

For the Pumpkin Cheesecake:

1. Take 1 extra large piece of aluminum foil that’s bigger than your springform pan. Place springform pan in the centre and fold aluminum up to the sides to cover the outside of the pan. This ensures that no water seeps into the pan during the water bath. Alternatively, I placed my pan in a slightly larger pot to completely protect my crust from the water.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add both sugars, cornstarch, and pumpkin pie spice and beat until combined.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add sour cream, pumpkin purée and vanilla and continue beating until smooth.
4. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, beating slowly after each addition until just combined, do not overbeat. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is combined.
5. Pour the cheesecake onto the cooled crust and place into a larger pan. Bring a few cups of water to a boil and carefully pour into the larger pan. The water should only be a few inches up the sides of the pan. Do not go over the top.
6. Bake at 300F for about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes. The cheesecake is done when the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly.
7. Turn off oven and leave the cheesecake to cool for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, crack the door open and continue cooling the cheesecake for another 30 minutes. This helps prevent cracking.
8. After an hour, remove cheesecake from waterbath and aluminum foil. Run a knife around the edge of the pan so it's not sticking to the sides and allow to cool completely on a rack.
9. Refrigerate cheesecake until firm and chilled, about 8 hours or overnight.

For the Sweetened Whipped Cream:

1. In a medium stainless steal bowl using a handheld mixer, add the chilled cream, powdered sugar and vanilla and beat, using a hand mixer until stiff peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Once cheesecake is chilled, remove from springform pan and transfer to serving plate.
3. Pipe sweetened whipped cream around the edges of the cheesecake. Dust cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice on top and garnish with chopped pecans, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

• Store Cheesecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Hamilton Beach 70740 8-Cup Food Processor, Black
• 
  Nordic Ware Leak Proof Springform Pan, 10 Cup, Assorted Colors, 9 Inch
• 
  KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield, 5-Quart, Empire Red
• 
  KitchenAid KHM512ER 5-Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer, Empire Red
• 
  Ateco Plastic Coated Decorating Bag, 18-Inch
• 
  Wilton 402-2004 No. 2D Large Drop Flower Piping Tip

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 702Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 395mgCarbohydrates: 92gFiber: 4gSugar: 47gProtein: 9g

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Love, Dedra ❤️

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