This post is sponsored by Raley’s, but all opinions are my own of course! Thanks for supporting the amazing brands that keep The Food Charlatan going. Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram I know I’m not the only one whose kids are obsessed. On a neighborhood Facebook group I’m in, one mom posted that she was willing to buy someone’s catalogue; they had lost theirs and her kid was devastated. A highly prized commodity indeed! Guys, Thanksgiving is next week!! Do you still need a dessert recipe? I’ve got you covered. Let’s talk cheesecake. I HAVE STRONG FEELINGS. Are you ready? But…I just don’t love the unbaked crust. I think that refrigerated crusts end up kinda soft and sad and soggy. I know this is a personal preference thing! So many people love it. And if you make me a no bake crust, I will definitely eat it. I just prefer a crispy crust. Am I the only one here? It is the perfect foil to a light, smooth, creamy no bake cheesecake! And that is exactly what today’s recipe is. A perfectly pumpkin-y version of that dreamy, creamy no bake texture you love. With a non apologetically crispy baked crust. (Okay, okay, I included instructions for how to do both, don’t worry.) This no bake pumpkin cheesecake would be such a great dessert to make for Thanksgiving. You can make it up to two days in advance. One more thing you can get out of the way before the big day! Let’s make it! For the crust: For the cheesecake filling: For the graham topping (optional but amazing) To garnish (optional, also amazing) Whipped cream Caramel sauce The ingredients and amounts are the same. Grind up a bunch of graham crackers and about 1/2 cup chopped pecans.I love adding crunchy nuts to my crust! Adds such a great flavor dimension. If you are chilling the crust, take a couple minutes to toast your pecans on the stove until fragrant. It makes all the difference! If you bake your crust, use a spoon to reshape and press it back into shape a bit after it comes out of the oven. The pecans make it puff a little. Now for the filling! Whip up some cream with a bit of powdered sugar, and toss in the fridge. We will fold it in later. Then beat your softened cream cheese until there are NO lumps. If there are lumps, you will taste them in your cheesecake! We want that ultra smooth and creamy texture. Add in a buncha brown sugar. Add in some vanilla and spices and mix it all together. I love to add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a little bit of cardamom and cloves. You can leave those last two out if you want, but I love the depth of flavor they add! You long time readers out there know how obsessed I am with cardamom. It’s delightful, I’m telling you. After beating the cream cheese into submission and swirling in the pumpkin, it’s time to add in that cream you already whipped. Don’t go too crazy, you don’t want to deflate it. Mix until just barely combined. Use an offset spatula to smooth out the top. If you have a little tiny bit of extra filling that mounds in the middle instead of giving you a perfectly flat cheesecake, well then I guess you will just have to scrape it into a little bowl and eat it with a spoon right then and there. I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not. Have you ever done this?? I might be a little obsessed with graham cracker crusts, especially when it comes to a thick and super rich cheesecake. I always want a higher ratio of crust to cheesecake. The answer? Add it on top as a perfectly crispy garnish! It’s so good. I’m working with Raley’s for this post! I’ve been going to Raley’s since I was a kid. It was just down the street from us and my mom did all her shopping there. Living really close to a grocery store totally spoils you. Instead of planning ahead you just end up running to the store every other day! We practically lived there. Raley’s revamped their private label program last year, and they have basically everything! I was doing a normal shopping trip for our family’s groceries at the same time that I picked up the products I needed for this no bake pumpkin cheesecake, and almost everything I needed to buy was under the private label. Why would I buy the expensive name brand products when I can get a really high quality private label product that is a fraction of the price? I saved tons of money by buying the Raley’s brand for everything I needed. And it’s really high quality! Sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get with a generic brand, but I trust Raley’s. Everything I bought was just as good if not better than the name brand. Raley’s even ordered 20% more of their private label products this quarter, in anticipation of the holiday rush that always happens. Have you ever tried to shop for Thanksgiving on Wednesday?? Sometimes the shelves are cleaned out! You will get flashbacks to empty toilet paper shelves like we had in March! But Raley’s is prepared so you’re good to go. They even offer online ordering for same-day pick up and delivery. I like to pretend that I would use this because of the pandemic, but really it’s just because I’m lazy. Grocery delivery for the win! Here’s what happens when you ask your husband to help you lift a slice of cheesecake out of the pan for a photo. “Stand there. No, not there, you’re blocking my light. There. Yes. Okay, now hold the pie server with the slice. No not like that, put your hand further back. Can you push your sleeve up? And stop shaking. Hold it still. Okay now tilt it forward. A little more. A little more. I need the light on it. Tilt it….NOOO IT FELL!!” It’s seriously a miracle that Eric puts up with me.
