Mini Pumpkin Pretzel Cups
Our mini pumpkin pretzel cups are an easy, delicious fall treat everyone will love. A salty pretzel crust is topped with a rich, creamy pumpkin mousse filling. They're finished in just about 30 minutes and ready to eat after a little chilling. That's it!
Servings: 12 Servings
Ingredients
Pumpkin Filling
- 12 ounces cream cheese
- ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 8 ounce cool whip
- 1 drop pumpkin orange gel food coloring, if desired
Pretzel Crusts
- 2 ½ cups crushed pretzels
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12 count or (2) 6-count large muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Pretzel Crust
- In a large bowl, add coarsely crushed pretzels, brown sugar, flour, vanilla extract, and melted butter. Stir until combined.
- Reserve ½ cup of pretzel mixture for the topping. Set aside.
- Spoon the remaining pretzel mixture into the prepared muffin tin.
- Press the pretzel mixture down in the tin evenly and bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.
Pumpkin Filling
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
- Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg. Beat until combined.
- Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth then add the cool whip and one drop of orange food coloring until incorporated.
- Once the pretzel crusts have cooled completely, spoon the pumpkin filling over each pretzel crust.
- Next, sprinkle the reserved pretzel mixture on top of each mini pumpkin treat.
- Place in the refrigerator and let chill for an hour or two.
- Take a butter knife and run it around the edges of each dessert and it will loosen so you can remove it (It’s a bit messy but so worth it).
- Grab some napkins and enjoy!
Notes
Storage
- Refrigerate for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- Wrap individual cups in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to a month in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
- Defrost overnight and serve chilled.
- The easiest way to crush your pretzels is with a food processor. Just be sure not to pulverize them too finely!
- Your cream cheese should be at room temperature for easy mixing and the best filling texture.
- Fold the Cool Whip into the pumpkin mixture to ensure it retains its rich, creamy texture.
- It's important to make the filling first before baking the crust. This ensures the filling is nice and cold when you're ready to use it.
- Press your crust mixture firmly into the bottom of the cups to ensure a cohesive crust.
- The crust should be completely cool, or the filling will thin on contact.
- To easily remove your pumpkin pretzel cups, run a butter knife around the edges of the muffin cups.