Before you roll your eyes at the fact that this recipe has pumpkin in it, realize that it’s a cheesecake recipe. And as you know, everything tastes 957 times better when you fold it into a tub of velvety smooth cream cheese.
No matter how tired you might already be of pumpkins before Halloween has even arrived, you have to give these no-bake pumpkin cheesecake bars a try. What’s better is that you don’t even have to bake them, so they are wonderful for a late night in your dorm of watching TV while greedily chowing down.
Of course, I suppose you could share these with friends. The only piece of heavy equipment that I require of you is a microwave, something most dorms provides for free. Forget utensils these delectable little bites are a fork-free affair. That is, if you want them to be. I won’t tell you how to eat your cheesecake.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours (in fridge)
Total Time: 3 hours 15 mins
Servings: 15 squares
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups crushed graham crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) pumpkin purée
½ cup white sugar
1 tub Cool Whip (8 oz.)
½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 envelope gelatin, dissolved in ½ cup water
Photo by Bailey Culpepper
Directions:
1. Throw those graham crackers (about one sleeve’s worth) into a plastic bag, and crush them.
Photo by Bailey Culpepper
2. In a large bowl, mix together the crushed grahams crackers, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a half stick of melted butter with a fork.
Photo by Bailey Culpepper
3. Press the buttery graham cracker crumble into some sort of baking dish. I used an 11 x 7 inch dish, but you could honestly use just about anything— even a pie or cake tin would be fine.
Photo by Bailey Culpepper
4. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, pumpkin purée, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin spice until well-combined.
5. Then, fold the tub of Cool Whip into the mixture and mix until combined.
6. Dissolve your envelope of gelatin into ½ cup of hot water (you could steal some from your roommate’s Keurig) then mix into the cheesecake filling.
Photo by Bailey Culpepper
7. Spoon the cheesecake filling over the graham cracker crust and leave in the fridge for at least 3 hours before cutting the dessert into bars. Enjoy!
Still hungry? Try these dorm-friendly desserts: