Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes spiked with bourbon and smothered with buttery pecan praline. The perfect ending to any holiday meal they’re sure to become your new family tradition.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon and Pecan Praline topping on a blue and white dish.


Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

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I love a show stopping dessert for the holidays. Whether it be these ridiculously tasty stuffed mushrooms (you gotta make them…I mean, really) or this crazy Death by Chocolate Cake….I would always shoot for the moon.

These Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes with Praline Topping are no different. They’re a great way to serve dessert for the holidays because everyone can help themselves. Plus, the mini cheesecakes are great for portion control. 

Mini Pumpkin cheesecake on a blue coaster with a pecan praline topping.

A Pumpkin Cheesecake is always a win in my book and I, almost, always make some version every single year. If you’re a pumpkin pie fan and a lover of cheesecake, this will surely be a favorite immediately.

 This Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe is blended with pumpkin puree then spiced up with THIS pumpkin pie spice and topped with with these crumbled pecan pralines. It’s just the right thing to do.

Perched perfectly atop a gingersnap crust, creamy spiced pumpkin cheesecake kissed slightly (ok…maybe like a deeply passionate kiss) with bourbon and then topped with a rich, buttery pecan praline.

A little bit southern and totally worthy of any holiday party. Or heck, just whip them up because you’re celebrating the new movie line up on Netflix….they’re seriously amazing and so easy.

You can adjust the amount of bourbon to your liking or leave it out totally but I was really going for a quick peck on the cheek amount of bourbon but my hand tipped a bit too much…and voila…perfection. Don’t mess with a good thing. 🙂

Mini Bourbon Pumpkin Praline Cheesecakes | The Suburban Soapbox

Ingredients You Will Need

To start, you’ll make your Gingersnap Crust. It’s just like a graham cracker crust but light spiced and rich with molasses. If you don’t want to use Ginger snap cookies, you can make a crust using graham crackers.

  • Ginger Snap Cookies – We love to use homemade but store bought is fine.
  • Cinnamon
  • Unsalted Butter
  • Kosher salt
  • Cream Cheese – Full fat, not low fat or fat free. It will change the consistency of the cheesecake.
  • Sugar
  • Flour
  • Pumpkin Pie spice – We use this one!
  • Eggs
  • Pumpkin Puree – You can use homemade but be sure to drain it for an hour in a cheesecake lined strainer to remove some of the liquid.
  • Bourbon
  • Vanilla
  • Sugar
  • Half and Half
  • Butter
  • baking soda
  • vanilla
  • Pecans

I know it looks like a lot of ingredients but some of them are a repeat and most you probably already have in your kitchen.

I used a mini cheesecake pan like the one I found here (affiliate link) but you can use a muffin tin with liners if you don’t have a cheesecake pan.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes with a drip on the side.

How To Make In Advance

If you want to make your life easier, you can make your mini cheesecakes up to 3 days in advance and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Want to make one large cheesecake? This Pumpkin Cheesecake with gingersnap crust was created from this same recipe but scaled for a larger cake.

Slice of Pumpkin cheesecake on a decorative plate with a gold fork.

More Easy Cheesecake Recipes

If you like this mini cheesecake recipe, you will also love the OG New York Cheesecake!  It’s creamy and light making it perfect for just about any day of the year!

Or try these easy Salted Caramel Mocha Cheesecakes inspired by everyone’s favorite coffeehouse drink. We also like this Gingerbread Cheesecake, it’s rich and sweet making it perfect for the holidays.

SLICE OF GINGERBREAD CHEESECAKE ON A BLUE PLATE WITH A WHOLE CAKE IN THE BACKGROUND DECORATED WITH GINGERBREAD MEN.

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Get the Recipe: Mini Bourbon Pumpkin Praline Cheesecakes

Yield: 36 cheesecakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Feed a crowd with Mini Bourbon Praline Pumpkin Cheesecakes for dessert!
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients

  • For the crust:
  • 1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • For the cheesecake filling:
  • 2 8- ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup solid pack pumpkin
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • For the praline topping:
  • 1 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter
  • pinch of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • In a small bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, cinnamon, butter and salt until moistened. Divide the mixture evenly among the wells of a mini cheesecake pan and press down firmly. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
  • Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in flour and spices. Add eggs 1 at a time. Beat in pumpkin, bourbon and vanilla. Divide the mixture evenly among the wells of the cheesecake pan filling to just below the top of the pan.
  • Bake the cheesecakes for 20 minutes until the edges are firm but the center is still jiggly. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature. When cool transfer to the refrigerator and chill overnight.
  • When the cheesecakes are cool, remove them from the pan and place on a wire rack.
  • In a large saucepan over medium high heat, combine the sugar, half and half, butter, baking soda and vanilla. Stir the mixture until boiling and the sugar has disolved completely. Turn the heat to medium low and continue stiring until the mixture reaches 238 – 241 degrees on a candy thermometer or soft ball stage. (The mixture will begin to take on a light caramel color.) Stir in the pecans and remove from the heat. Stir the mixture until it begins to thicken and becomes creamy. Using a spoon drop heaping tablespoons of praline mixture onto the top of each cheesecake and allow to cool. Mixture will harden when cool. (If the praline mixture seizes because it cooled too quickly, add more half and half one tablespoon at a time until the mixture becomes creamy again.)
  • Chill the cheesecakes until ready to serve. Can be made up to 24 hours in advance.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 133kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 65mg, Potassium: 61mg, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 1240IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 0.6mg
Author: Kellie
Course: Baking, Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American