Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dessert
This pumpkin cream cheese dessert is going to be your new fall favorite. A sweet graham cracker crust is topped with a rich, creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling and finished with dollops of homemade whipped cream. Bonus: It's easy!
Servings: 8 Servings
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Layer
- 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 container cool whip
- 1 drop pumpkin orange gel food coloring, if desired.
Homemade Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 7 x 11 or 9 x 13 baking dish with a non-stick cooking spray.
Graham Cracker Crust
- In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar together until combined.
- Reserve ¼ cup of graham cracker mixture to sprinkle on the topping. Set aside.
- Press mixture evenly into a 7x11 or 9x13 baking dish.and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Layer
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
- Add pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and nutmeg, and beat until combined.
- Next, add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
- Lastly, beat the cool whip and one drop of food coloring until incorporated..
- Once the pretzel crust has cooled completely, spoon pumpkin filling over the pretzel crust and spread in an even layer.
Homemade Whipped Cream
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Using a piping bag or gallon size ziplock baggie, pipe whipped cream on top of the pumpkin filling.
- Sprinkle the reserved graham cracker mixture on top of the whipped cream.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours, and enjoy.
Notes
Storage
- Refrigerate for up to 4 days, tightly covered with foil.
- A food processor makes it so easy to crush up the graham crackers.
- Press the crust mixture firmly into the baking dish. This pressure ensures the mixture fuses as it bakes, creating a cohesive crust.
- A hand mixer is the easiest way to create a rich, creamy pumpkin filling. Mixing with a whisk won't yield as luxurious a texture.
- You can pipe the whipped cream on top of your dessert with a star tip or simply snip the corner off of a large Ziploc bag.