Creamy pumpkin pie flavored cheesecake on a gingersnap-crumb crust– an easy, no-bake fall-time treat.
“The best dessert you have ever made” — Andi (my 10 year old sister)
I have a confession to make that feels borderline blasphemous to let loose during a time of year where pumpkin…everything… is at its height, at a time where people are clamoring to Starbucks for pumpkin spice this or that with the indomitable, single-minded hunger of a hoard of zombies on a fresh horse carcass (sorry… I’ve got The Walking Dead on the brain).
My confession is this…
I… don’t really like pumpkin.
I mean I love pumpkins–the sunny gourds that can be cheerfully gutted, scraped and carved into jovial, gap-toothed, flame-brained Jack O’Lanterns. But their well-pureed innards that overwhelm each and every pie crust from October through November… well, I could do without that (I’m more of an apple fritter kinda girl).
It’s pumpkin pie that really first turned me off from pumpkin… I’ve only ever been able to make my way through a slice if it was well concealed beneath at least a solid half-foot avalanche of whipped cream, and even then I’d just rather have something else. Anything else.
So, why the pumpkin recipe today? Not only that, but why two pumpkin recipes (pumpkin cupcakes, looking at you) so far this season alone… and, I’ll confess now, there’s a pumpkin cheesecake waiting for you in the future.
Well, let’s just say I’m trying to expand my tastes. I’m growing as a person. I’m maturing and expanding my palate.
Though you will not find any classic pumpkin pies on my blog this year (and the ice cream one does not count), you will find variations of pumpkin recipes designed to appeal to even the most ardent disliker of pumpkin. I eat everything I make on this blog, and so if it’s a pumpkin recipe, you should know that it is a darn good pumpkin recipe. This one is so good, in fact, that my youngest sister declared them to be the “best” dessert I have ever made, and has asked me to make them again repeatedly.
This pumpkin/cheesecake filling is layered over a two-ingredient gingersnap crust (though you could use a graham cracker crust instead) that provides the perfect crunchy-crumb texture against the cheesecake layer (which inspired my no-bake cheesecake). The filling is a wonderful, festive blend of cream cheese, pumpkin, pumpkin spice and brown sugar, satisfying enough to convince you to leave Starbucks and their pumpkin shenanigans behind forever (or is that blasphemy to say, as well?).
I don’t often use Cool Whip in my recipes, preferring to make my own homemade whipped cream, but considering the fact that so many people consider the pre-made whipped topping to be a standard pumpkin companion, I’ve used it here to not only save you time, trouble, and dishes, but to keep with the ironic tradition that my family has always had of using pre-packaged whipped topping along from-scratch pumpkin pie.
Sorry, Pumpkin, you’ll never be my favorite, but this recipe does come as close as it gets.
More Great Recipes to Try:
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Dessert Shooters {No Bake}
Ingredients
- You will need 30 disposable(or not, if you have a lot of barware handy and don't mind washing them) 2 oz shot glasses -- I always buy mine here from Amazon.
Crust
- 15 Gingersnap cookies
- 2 Tbsp butter melted
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese softened, (2 8-oz packages)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar tightly packed
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 12 + 8 oz Cool Whip divided, thawed
Instructions
Crust
- In food processor, pulse cookies until mostly crumbled. Add butter and pulse until completely blended (fine crumbs).
- Using a small spoon, gently pack about 2 tsp of the crumbled cookie/butter mixture into the bottom of each shot glass (30 shot glasses total). Reserve any extra crumbs to sprinkle on top of finished product.
- In KitchenAid or with an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, and brown sugar until well-combined.
- Add in pumpkin spice and stir well.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- With mixer on low speed, slowly add in powdered sugar, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With mixer on low speed, gently mix in 12 oz Cool Whip. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and complete the mixing by hand.
- Using either a large piping bag with a 1" tip or a Ziploc bag with a 1" hole cut in a corner, pipe filling into the prepared shot glasses on top of the gingersnap crust, evenly dividing mixture among all shot glasses.
- Pipe the remaining 8 oz Cool Whip on top of the pumpkin pie cheesecake filling, evenly dividing between shot glasses. This can be done with either a Ziploc bag with a hole cut in a corner of it or with an icing bag and a star-tip (which was used for the topping in these pictures).
- Sprinkle remaining cookie crumbs over tops of dessert shooters before serving (be sure to keep refrigerated if not eating immediately).
Nutrition
Lora says
Hey Sam,
With the pandemic this year I am doing individual shooter dessert cups. Would you maybe do a video on these? I absolutely love all your recipes. Thanks for all you do!
Sam says
Hi Lora! Unfortunately I am really struggling to find pumpkin in the stores around me so I don’t know that I will be able to get one done this year, but I will make sure to mark it down and start my pumpkin recipes really early next year. I appreciate your support. 🙂
Naomi says
These sound so good! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Sam says
I hope you love them Naomi! 🙂
Hollis Ramsey says
I’m turning this into a pie, with fresh-whipped cream (your recipe) instead of Cool Whip and cutting the powdered sugar by ~1/2 c. (because there’s so much in the whipped cream. I love cardamom and cinnamon bores me, so my spice blend will be 1 t. ground cardamom, 1 t. ground ginger, 1/2 t. ground nutmeg. (Toying with the addition of a pinch of mace and maybe black pepper.) I might even add some orange zest. And since there’s 1 t. vanilla in the whipped cream, I’ll cut it to 1/2 t. in the filling. Using a store-bought pecan crust.
Sam says
I hope everyone loves it! 🙂
mary wells says
it is awsome
Kris says
Can you share link for the shooter cups off Amazon please?
Sam says
Hi Kris! These are the cups I use.
Kris says
Thank you!!
Kristin says
Can you use real homemade whipped cream instead of cool whip?
Sam says
ABSOLUTELY! I actually have a great homemade whipped cream recipe if you want to use that!
Eileen says
We have a large family gathering on Sunday. These would be perfect to serve as dessert. If I leave out the cookie bottom, is it gluten free? I could make a few for my gluten free relatives. Thanks.
Sugar Spun Run says
Hello, Eileen! I am not an expert in making gluten-free desserts, so it is hard to say. It will depend on the brand ingredients used if any of the items contain gluten. I know most brands of canned pumpkin are gluten-free, but you will need to double-check. I hope that your relatives enjoy the pumpkin pie cheesecake dessert shooters. 🙂
Ann Marie says
Can I double this recipe? My glasses hold about 2.5 oz.
Sam says
Doubling this will work just fine. ☺️
Linda says
Can I make these shooters a day or two before serving? (holding off with Cool Whip on top)
Sam says
Hi Linda! As long as you leave the whipped cream off the top that should work just fine! 😃
Margo says
Can I use canned whipped cream on the top, or will it taste better using CoolWhip since there’s CoolWhip in the pumpkin pie mix?
Sam says
You can use canned whipped cream, that just dissolves pretty quickly so I recommend putting it on just before serving.
Jen says
Hi -what size can of pumpkin purée do you use?
Sam says
I usually buy a small can, I think it’s like 15 oz. The recipe won’t use all of it. I hope that helps!