‘The Pioneer Woman’: Ree Drummond’s Easy Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake Is the Perfect Fall Dessert

Nothing says fall like pumpkin spice-flavored coffee and desserts and Ree Drummond’s easy pumpkin gingersnap cheesecake is a perfect treat for the fall months. The Pioneer Woman star uses gingersnap cookies and pecans in the crust and makes an easy pumpkin spice filling — then she tops it all with a decadent drizzle of salted caramel sauce.

Ree Drummond’s pumpkin gingersnap cheesecake is perfect for fall

Drummond demonstrated how to make her pumpkin gingersnap cheesecake on an episode of The Pioneer Woman. To make the crust, the Food Network host put gingersnap cookies in a food processor and pulsed them until they were fine crumbs. She put the crumbs in a bowl and added brown sugar, finely chopped pecans, salt, and melted butter. Drummond pressed the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan, then chilled the crust for 30 minutes.

The cheesecake filling comes together quickly. She combined cream cheese and pumpkin puree in a stand mixer, then added eggs, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, mixing until the ingredients were combined.

The Pioneer Woman star poured the filling into the chilled crust and baked the cheesecake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 50 minutes, then turned off the oven and cracked the door with the cheesecake inside for another 15 minutes.

Drummond made a salted caramel sauce while the cheesecake was in the oven. “It’s so easy to whip up,” she said as she added butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt to a pan and whisked it for five minutes until it thickened.

After the cheesecake cooled for 30 minutes, Drummond covered it with plastic wrap and refrigerated it for at least 4 hours. She served each piece with a drizzle of the homemade caramel sauce.

The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.

‘The Pioneer Woman’ star has an easy no-bake cheesecake recipe, too

Drummond has an easier cheesecake recipe that doesn’t involve any baking time. Her no-bake lemon cheesecake has a bright flavor that’s perfect any time of year. “There’s something about the addition of lemon — both the zest and the juice — that just adds a nice citrusy freshness,” a blog post accompanying The Pioneer Woman star’s recipe explained.

The recipe noted, “It’s much lighter in texture than a baked cheesecake, but a filling of sour cream and homemade whipped cream ensures it’s still tangy and smooth.”

For this cheesecake version, Drummond makes an easy graham cracker crust by pulsing graham crackers and brown sugar in a food processor until they are ground into crumbs, then adds melted butter. She presses the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan, then freezes the crust for 20 minutes.

The Pioneer Woman star beats together the filling — softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sour cream — in a stand mixer.

Then she makes whipped cream by combining heavy cream and vanilla extract in a bowl and beats it with a hand mixer for 4 minutes until it forms stiff peaks. She folds the whipped cream into the cream cheese filling, then pours it into the crust.

Drummond covers the cake pan with plastic wrap and refrigerates the dessert for 12 hours or overnight. “For best results, a no-bake cheesecake should chill for a full 12 hours, or keep it in the fridge overnight,” her blog post explains. “Slicing into your cheesecake before it has fully chilled and firmed up may result in a softer texture.”

You can find the full recipe on The Pioneer Woman website.