Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars With Gingersnap Crust

ten pumpkin cheesecake bars on upside down sheet pan with spoon of caramel sauce beside, white pumpkins behind, and stack of plates.

Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars With Gingersnap Crust

The perfect Fall treat! These Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars With Gingersnap Crust are full of flavor, require NO water bath, are easy to make, and so delicious. Perfect for weekend baking, Halloween, or even Thanksgiving!

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 45

Refrigeration Time: 12

Total Time: 13 10

Servings:

Calories: 260kcal

Ingredients

Crust

4 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 16 cookies)
½ cup granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons salted butter melted

Cheesecake

3 cups cream cheese room temperature
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs room temperature
1 large egg yolk room temperature
¼ cup strong maple syrup
1⅔ teaspoons vanilla extract
6 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 cups pumpkin purée

Topping

Chantilly Cream optional
Caramel Sauce optional

Instructions

Crust

Heat oven to 325℉.
Line a 9 inch x 13 inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs and sugar.
Add butter.
Mix thoroughly.
Press into bottom of prepared pan. Set aside.

Cheesecake

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
Beat in eggs and yolk, one at a time.
Mix in syrup, vanilla, and cream.
Stir in pumpkin.
Pour into prepared crust.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until set.
Allow to cool completely before refrigerating for 4-6 hours, or overnight.
Before serving, lift from pan and top, if desired, with Chantilly cream and caramel sauce.
Cut into 24 even squares.

Notes

2 cups of pumpkin purée is equal to a single 15 ounce can.
Make sure you have pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling.
You will need Grade B Maple Syrup for this recipe. Grade A is not strong enough. You can find what grade it is by checking the label.
If you do not have a food processor to grind the cookies, you can place them in a zip top bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
When grinding the cookies, be sure there are no large chunks!
Depending on whether you use homemade or store-bought gingersnap cookies, the amount of butter needed may vary. For our homemade cookies, it takes about 4 Tablespoons of melted butter, as our gingersnaps are not as dry as store-bought.
The amount of cookies needed will also depend on if using our recipe or store-bought. Store-bought cookies tend to be much smaller than ours. Therefore, you will most likely need more than the 16 cookies listed in the recipe card.
When packing down the crust, it’s best to use the bottom of a metal measuring cup to ensure a tight and even pack.
Be sure to mix the cream cheese and eggs VERY well. Scrape down the sides and beater blade often to ensure no lumps.
Once the eggs are added, try not to beat or mix too much. Eggs will retain air and give extra (and unwanted) lift to this cheesecake. That causes cracks!
If you suspect air bubbles in your filling, tap the cake pan against your counter a few times!
Once the cheesecake is done, let it cool completely before covering with aluminum foil and placing in the fridge overnight.
If the cheesecake does not pull away from sides of pan after cooling, run a thin-bladed knife dipped in hot water around the edge of the parchment paper to loosen it.

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