These Mini Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Desserts are such a fun and unique Fall treat. How cute would these look on your Thanksgiving dessert table next to the pies!? Such a fun single-serving-sized treat for kids. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Cutest Way to Eat Dessert
My last pumpkin dessert of the year (and what a perfect one, just in time for Thanksgiving)!
I don’t know about you but I’m honestly breathing a sigh of relief. My kitchen has been overwhelmed with pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin cupcakes, and while Zach has been over the moon you guys know I’m not actually much of a pumpkin person myself.
But for those of you who do enjoy the flavor, these mini pumpkin pie cheesecakes are the perfect pumpkin-infused treats, simple to make, and no baking required (I bet your oven has plenty of plans this week already!). The base starts with my homemade, no-bake cheesecake filling that’s infused with pumpkin and Fall spices for a cheesecake/pumpkin pie hybrid. They’re simple to make (the kids can help!) and so, so good.
What You Need
Here’s what you need:
- Gingersnaps & butter. We’ll grind these up to make the “crust” for our desserts. I include notes in the recipe in case you’d like a graham cracker crust instead!
- Heavy Whipping cream. You can use heavy cream, whipping cream, or even double cream. We’ll whip this with powdered sugar and vanilla extract to make our own whipped cream. This will both serve some purpose as the stabilizer for the cheesecake layer and that swirl of whipped cream on top!
- Cream cheese. As with almost all of my cheesecake recipes, I recommend using brick-style cream cheese and not the spreadable kind, which contains additives and is less likely to firm up properly. You may have a bit more wiggle room with this recipe as opposed to my baked ones, but having not tried it myself I can’t say for sure how it would turn out.
- Pumpkin puree. I recommend using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, which contains additives and spices that you don’t need here.
- Sugar. Brown sugar and powdered sugar add sweetness, and the molasses from the brown sugar adds a subtle (Fall-inspired) depth of flavor.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice. I happened to have a jar in my cabinet, but if you don’t have any you can easily make your own homemade pumpkin spice.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Mini Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes
The steps listed below correspond with the numbered photos above.
- Begin by making your crust. Pulse gingersnaps in a food processor until you have fine crumbs, then stir in a bit of melted butter until the mixture resembles coarse sandy crumbs.
- Divide the crumbs into 30 disposable shot glasses. Use a measuring spoon to tamp down on the crumbs so you have a firm bottom layer.
- Prepare your whipped cream by beating cream, sugar, and vanilla to stiff billowy peaks! We are making my favorite homemade whipped cream but I include notes to substitute Cool Whip (don’t do it!).
- Stir together pumpkin, cream cheese, and spices and then carefully fold the whipped cream into the mixture.
- Pipe filling into each shot glass, filling almost to the brim.
- Top off with a swirl of whipped cream.
Tip: Crush an extra cookie or two and reserve the crumbs for sprinkling over the desserts before serving!
This is just an overview of the instructions, the full printable recipe can be found below (along with a video).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes you can, in fact I originally published the recipe this way.
To do this, skip all of the ingredients in the “Whipped Cream” section of the recipe and you will instead need 24 oz of thawed Cool Whip.
Fold half into the pumpkin mixture and reserve the other half to pipe on top.
Yes! Mix together ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs and 3 Tablespoons of melted butter (salted or unsalted) with a teaspoon of sugar and use that instead (no need to bake!).
Prepare up to 5 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (see below for freezing instructions).
Yes! They freeze quite well. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to several months. You can serve from frozen or you can thaw overnight in the refrigerator to bring them back to a softer consistency (which I prefer).
More Recipes You Might Like
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Mini Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes (No-Bake!)
Ingredients
- You will need 30 disposable 2 oz shot glasses click the link in the "equipment" section below to buy the ones I use
Crust¹
- 15 Gingersnap cookies
- 2 Tablespoons butter melted (salted or unsalted is fine)
Whipped Cream²
- 3 cups (709 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese softened, (2 8-oz packages)
- 1 cup (245 g) canned pumpkin puree
- 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Crust
- In food processor, pulse cookies until mostly crumbled. Add butter and pulse until completely blended (fine crumbs).2 Tablespoons butter, 15 Gingersnap cookies
- Using a small spoon, gently pack about 1 ½ teaspoons of the crumbled cookiemixture into the bottom of each shot glass (30 shot glasses total). Reserve any extra crumbs to sprinkle on top.You will need 30 disposable 2 oz shot glasses
Whipped Cream
- Combine heavy cream, 1 cup powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until mixture is thick and billowy and stiff peaks have formed (I demonstrate this in my video above).3 cups (709 ml) heavy whipping cream, 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Divide whipped cream in half (approximate is fine), you will need half for the filling and half for the topping. Set both aside for now.
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Layer
- Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, beat together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, and brown sugar until mixture is smooth and well-combined.16 oz cream cheese, 1 cup (245 g) canned pumpkin puree, 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- Gradually stir in powdered sugar until combined.2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- Add in pumpkin spice and vanilla extract and stir well.2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Take one half of your reserved whipped cream and carefully fold it into the pumpkin mixture until smooth. You could do this with an electric mixer on low speed but I usually do this part by hand.
- Pipe³ filling into prepared shot glasses, filling nearly to the brim.
- Pipe or dollop your remaining half of whipped cream evenly overtop the dessert shooters. If you reserved any cookie crumbs, sprinkle these over the whipped cream for decoration if desired. While these desserts may be served immediately, the filling will be quite soft and I recommend chilling in the refrigerator in an airtight container for at least 4 hours before serving.
Notes
¹Crust
You may substitute a graham cracker crust instead. Stir together ¾ cup (85g) graham cracker crumbs and 3 Tablespoons butter, and use that instead.²Whipped cream
To substitute storebought whipped topping (often Cool Whip) you will need 24 oz (680g) thawed whipped topping. Half will go into the pumpkin mixture and half will be piped on top. Omit all of the “Whipped Cream” ingredients/steps for in the recipe.³Piping
I like to use a large piping bag with a large open tip, but a large ziploc bag with a corner snipped off will work just as well. To pipe the whipped cream on top I like to use a Wilton 2D tip but you could just dollop the whipped cream on top with a spoon instead!Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or you may freeze for several months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This recipe was originally published October 9th 2015. I’ve since updated to include more information, to use homemade whipped cream rather than Cool Whip, and to share a how-to video.
Thelma
Hi Samantha, would I be able to do multiple layers for this recipe? Also, is it necessary to crumble the gingersnap cookies in the food processor?
Sam
HI Thelma, what did you mean by multiple layers? You can layer the pumpkin pie and Cool Whip that’s fine. I would recommend crumbling the cookies in a food processor to get the best texture. I hope that helps!
Thelma
Hello again Samantha, thank you for replying. I was wondering if it would be okay to do two layers of each? Or would the crust become too soft?
Sam
Hi Thelma, sorry I’m just now seeing this, I don’t think that would be a problem.
Tress
How many ozs. are the shoot glasses that you used? I’m making 75 (3 oz.) for a Fall Wedding. Wondering if I could get away with making the recipe 2.5 times or if I need to do 3x. Thanks!
Sam
I use 2 oz shot glasses. I hope everyone loves them!! 🙂
shannon lankford
Sam,
I made this last fall for a church event. Initially, I was a little nervous– there were going to be kids at the event and was not sure how it would go over. Let me tell ya !!!!!!!!!!!!! Huge hit. There were about 120 people at the event — kids and adults, alike loved it !!!!!!!!!!! Absolutely, loved it !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope you see this comment in time but I remember thinking this last year— hte 16 oz of cream cheese– in parentheses it says 2 packages– does that mean a total of 32 or are you meaning 2 packages of 8 oz? Whatever we did last year– we nailed it. Just can’t remember !!!!!!!! 🙂
This recipe was a huge hit !!!!!! And, the portions were so cute and perfect— no parents complaining about too much sugar and we used those little dessert spoons you can get from the dollar store.
Sam
Hi Shannon! I am SO glad to hear that these pumpkin pie shooters were such a hit!!!
Sorry about the confusion with the recipe, what I meant was it’s 2 8-oz packages, so a total of just 16 oz for the recipe. I hope that makes sense and I went in and updated the recipe for clarity.
I hope everyone enjoys them just as much this time around! 🙂 <3
shannon lankford
Thanks, Bunches !!!!!!!!!!!
Christina
I’m the opposite of you, i love pumpkin but hate whipped cream lol. But this looks so tasty, i’m definitely going to try it and soon! Thank you for sharing.
P.S. I’m also working on the growing and maturing thing. I wish us well with that.
Sam
Don’t know how I missed this comment! That’s so funny, Christina! Do you like homemade whipped cream, at least? It’s a whole different world and so good! I wish us well on the growth, too! Thanks for commenting 😉
Edith
Hi Sam,
I’d love to try this next week but had one quick question, what size pumpkin can do I use for your recipe? I have a 15oz can, is this too small?
Sam
Hi Edith!
A 15 oz can of pumpkin should have more than 1 cup (what the recipe calls for) of pumpkin in it, so that should be enough! 🙂
Teresa
I’d love to make these, however you have listed 2 cups powdered sugar…where does the powdered sugar go in the recipe?
Sam
Hi Teresa! I’m sorry, I see I missed that in the recipe! The powdered sugar should be added gradually after the vanilla. I’ve gone back and fixed the recipe, so it should be correct now. Thank you for catching that!
Jen
I love the shooter idea for a party…but can it otherwise be done in a pie plate?
Also, here’s how to enjoy pumpkin pie – take your slice, drop it in a blender with some milk and ice cream and POOF, you have a yummy milkshake! It’s how we used up those holiday pies growing up 🙂
Sam
There’s no reason it couldn’t be done in a pie plate however it might not be a terribly stable pie (it would probably be messy when you cut it) and I haven’t arranged the ratios to fit into a 9″ pie pan. I think the crust would fill one 9″ pan but since it’s not baked it would be messy (or see my pumpkin pie ice cream for a baked ginger snap crust idea, should be very similar but more stable) and you would probably have enough filling for 1 1/2-2 pies (or one overflowing pie). I hope this is helpful! And I love your idea for the milkshake!!!
Jen
Good points, thank you! I’ll stick with the shooters.
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four
These look SO delicious! I love that they’re individual size – so fun and easy for a party!
Sam
Thank you, Beeta!!
Kristina
I also prefer apples over pumpkin in the Fall, mostly because I only started using pumpkin 2 years ago when I moved on my own, it is not really used in the mediterranean cuisine with which I grew up with. But I liked it when I first tried it and I think I would love this cute dessert in a glass, it looks delicious.
Sam
I feel like it’s an acquired taste. Thank you, Kristina!
Marsha @ Marsha's Baking Addiction
These look so good! I want one right now! 🙂
Sam
Thanks, Marsha! 🙂
Barbara Messing
I am looking forward to trying this delicious recipe!!
Thanks
Sam
I think you will love it, Barbara! Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
Medha @ Whisk & Shout
Pumpkin pie is so addictive and these no bake individual portions are adorable!
Sam
Thank you, Medha!
Amanda
I never liked pumpkin pie as a kid, but somewhere along the way I suddenly liked it. Weird. :). These look adorable! And I like the idea of a ginger snap crust with pumpkin. Sounds great!
Sam
It’s funny how our tastes change as we mature! Thanks, Amanda! 🙂
Vanessa @ VanessaBaked
Such a fun way to eat dessert! 🙂
Sam
Thank you, Vanessa!
Patty K
Good for you for trying to expand your palate! Pumpkin will have you, yet 😉
Sam
Haha, it seems that way! Thank you, Patty! 🙂