No Bake Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Cheescake
No Bake Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Cheescake
With all the fall flavors you know and love, these rich and creamy No Bake Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Cheesecake Jars will hit the spot. Not only are they delicious, but they also come together in a just a few minutes. With cottage cheese replacing the heavier cream cheese in traditional cheesecake, these are not only lighter and fluffier but are also significantly lower in calories, fat, and carbs than traditional cheesecake. Now you can enjoy a delicious, decadent dessert without the guilt.
Quick and easy to make, these cheesecakes are perfect for any fall event from a simple weeknight snack to impressing your guests for holiday entertaining. Plus, there is no baking, saving oven space for other holiday favorites.
Made with only a few ingredients, this dessert packs creamy deliciousness in every bite. These cheesecakes have 50% less calories and 60% less fat than a slice of traditional cheesecake. Plus, they have double the protein of traditional pumpkin pie with 22% less carbs! Made with a few simple, high-quality ingredients, you can whip up these desserts in under 5 minutes.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Ingredients
- Ginger Snaps (6 tablespoons, crushed): Adds a sweet, rich crunchy texture packed with fall flavors of molasses and ginger.
- Salted Butter (2 tablespoons, melted): Adds a bit of flavor and holds the ginger snap crumbs together.
- Daisy Cottage Cheese (1 cup): The secret ingredient in these delicious cheesecakes. It lightens the cheesecakes and adds a silky, creamy texture that you love in cheesecake.
- Canned Pumpkin (also called pumpkin puree, 1 cup): Silky in texture with a deep orange color, it tastes and looks like fall. Full of fiber and micronutrients such as potassium and magnesium, with practically no fat, no salt, and no added sugar, canned pumpkin is a flavor bomb.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice (also called pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon): the perfect blend of fall flavors such as cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. It creates the depth of pumpkin pie flavor in fall desserts that you know and love.
- Vanilla Extract (1/4 teaspoon): Enhances the flavor of desserts.
- White Chocolate (4 ounces): Good quality white chocolate adds a sweet, buttery, slightly milky flavor to the cheesecakes.
Substitutions, Variations, and Tips
- Animal Crackers, graham crackers or gluten-free cookies can be used in place of the ginger snaps.
- You can substitute coconut oil for butter, if desired. Note, coconut oil has a slight coconut flavor.
- No pumpkin pie spice, no problem! You can make your own spice mixture using ¾ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon each of ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix spices together and use in place of pumpkin pie spice. Store any leftovers in a tightly covered container. Or, you can simply substitute a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg if you don’t have the other spices.
- Roasted and mashed butternut squash, acorn squash, and sweet potatoes have similar texture to canned pumpkin with complementary flavors.
- Chop the white chocolate into small bits and then microwave in short time increments (stirring between each round) to avoid scorching. Note that the chocolate may not look like it’s melting until stirred.
- An immersion blender may be used in place of the food processor to create the creamy, light, fluffy cheesecake filling.
- Cheesecake filling may be made up to 3 days in advance, stored in the refrigerator until ready to assemble dessert jars.
How to make No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Jars
- Mix ginger snap crumbs with the melted butter. Set aside.
- Puree Daisy Cottage Cheese with pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla in a food processor until completely smooth (approximately 1 minute).
- Chop the white chocolate baking bar into small even pieces, then place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals until just melted (about 1 ½ minutes).
- Scoop blended cottage cheese and pumpkin mixture into a mixing bowl and then use a rubber spatula to gently fold-in melted white chocolate.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the ginger snap mixture into the bottom of a dessert jar.
- Scoop ½ cup of cheesecake filling on top and smooth with the back of a spoon.
- Sprinkle 1 more tablespoon of the ginger snap mixture on top.
- Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.
- Repeat with remaining jars. Chill for 2 hours before serving.