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Pecan pie cheesecake combines a creamy cheesecake layer with a buttery, caramel-pecan topping making it a holiday must-have.
a Twist on a Classic
We simply LOVE, LOVE cheesecake and all of its variations!
Today’s dessert is one is a tasty twist on Pecan Pie. That’s right – we’ve combined cheesecake with one of our favorite holiday desserts to make a new holiday fav!
This pecan pie cheesecake is not insanely sweet like a regular pie, because the cheesecake layer perfectly cuts down the sweetness of the pecan filling but still delicious. If you love Pecan Pie and cheesecake, then you’ll want this on your Thanksgiving dessert table.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Best ingredients. It has a vanilla wafers crust, pecan pie filling, creamy cheesecake layer, and buttery, caramel-pecan topping.
- Great for holidays. It’s perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and anything in between!
- Make ahead. Make this fall dessert recipe up to 3 days in advance – perfect for busy holiday planning.
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
BAKE TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes
REST TIME: 1 hour
Crust
- 1¾ cups vanilla wafer crumbs – Use a food processor or blender to get fine crumbs for the perfect crust. Vanilla wafers can be replaced with an equal amount of graham cracker crumbs.
- ¼ cup brown sugar – I use light brown sugar.
Pecan Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup dark corn syrup – You can use light corn syrup, but the dark syrup has a more robust molasses-like flavor that complements the sweetness of the pecans and cheesecake filling and gives a warm brown visual look.
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten – room temperature eggs will incorporate better than cold ones.
- 1½ cups pecans chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 ounces cream cheese softened – use full-fat cream cheese for the creamiest result
- 1¼ cups light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs – room temperature eggs will incorporate the best
- ⅔ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup toasted pecans chopped – Toast pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently until fragrant and golden brown.
- optional toppings – Drizzle with Caramel Sauce, Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe, or sprinkle on sea salt.
How to Make Pecan Pie Cheesecake
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- CRUST. In a small bowl, combine 1 ¾ vanilla wafer crumbs and ¼ cup brown sugar. Stir in ⅓ cup melted butter. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom, and halfway up the sides, of a 9-inch springform pan. Chill in the fridge to firm the crust while making the filling.
- PECAN PIE FILLING. In a medium saucepan combine: 1 cup sugar, ⅔ cup dark corn syrup, ⅓ cup melted butter, 2 eggs, 1½ cups pecans, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Bring to a boil, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
- Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly until thickened (about 5-7 minutes). Pour into prepared crust and set aside.
- CHEESECAKE LAYER. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat 24 ounces cream cheese until creamy. Add 1¼ cups brown sugar and 2 tablespoons flour, beat until fluffy. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined after each addition.
- Stir in ⅔ cups heavy cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour the cheesecake batter into an even layer over the pecan filling.
- BAKE. Place the springform pan on a cookie sheet. Put it in the oven and reduce the heat to 325°F. Bake for 60-70 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean).
- Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven, with the oven door closed, for 1 hour.
- TOPPING. In a small saucepan, combine 3½ tablespoons butter and ½ cup brown sugar. Cook for 3-5 min, or until very bubbly. Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ cup heavy whipping cream, and chopped 1 cup toasted pecans. Cool to room temperature.
- SERVE. Release the sides of the springform pan and spoon the topping over the cooled cheesecake.
Pro Tip
Run a knife around the edges of the cheesecake, but don’t take it out of the pan until completely cooled.
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Pecan Pie Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 1¾ cups vanilla wafer, crumbs
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
Pecan Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅔ cup dark corn syrup
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1½ cups pecans, chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1¼ cups brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 3½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Instructions
Crust
- Line the bottom of 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine vanilla wafer crumbs and brown sugar, stir in melted butter, then press the mixture evenly into bottom and halfway up the side of 9-inch springform pan. Set in the fridge to firm the crust while making the filling.
Pecan Filling
- In a medium saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, eggs, pecans, and vanilla and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer stirring constantly until thickened, 5-7 minutes. Pour into prepared crust and set aside.
Cheesecake Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Beat the cream cheese until creamy, then add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Do not overbeat it!!! Stir in heavy cream and vanilla, then pour cheesecake mixture over pecan filling.
- Place springform pan on a cookie sheet, put it in the oven, and reduce the heat to 325°F Bake the cake for 60-70 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean). Turn off the oven and leave cheesecake in with oven door closed for 1 hour.
- Run a knife around the edges of the cheesecake but don’t take it out of the pan until completely cooled.
Topping
- In a small saucepan combine butter and brown sugar. Cook for 3-5 min or until very bubbly, then stir in cinnamon, heavy whipping cream, and chopped pecans. Cool to room temperature.
- Release the sides of springform pan and spoon the topping over cooled cheesecake.
- Store the cake in the fridge.½ cup brown sugar
Video
Notes
- Dip the blade of the knife into the hot water and wipe dry.
- The first cut I make is right down the center of the cake. Then I cut it into quarters.
- Depending on how large you want each slice to be, cut each quarter in half, thirds, or smaller quarters.
- Be sure to dip the blade in hot water to warm it up and wipe it clean after EACH cut.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Once you add the eggs DON’T overmix! The eggs will hold too much air, the air bubbles will then rise and create cracks on top. Also, try not to open the oven often, since uneven temperatures can cause cracks. If the cheesecake does crack, don’t worry. It will be covered with the pecan pie topping.
Using one in this recipe is not necessary, but you can if you wish!
Dip the blade of a long thin kitchen knife into a cup of hot water and dry completely before cutting each slice.
Store loosely covered in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Freeze uncovered, until firm. Then, remove the cheesecake and wrap it in plastic wrap and then again with aluminum foil or place it in a freezer bag. Seal and freeze for up to 2 months.
For more recipes just as amazing as this one, head over to OMG Chocolate Desserts.
Made this today… it was a hit and I’ve added it to my favorite recipes
I read the comments about the bottom getting too hard. I didn’t have this problem at all and the pecan pie bottom of my cheesecake has the jelly consistency of pecan pie.
What I did differently –
1. I used a water bath (that seems to be the solution from reading the other comments and from my experience today). There’ll be some oily stuff leaking out into your water bath from your springform pan which i assume is some butter from the crust.
2. I didn’t have corn syrup so I used simple syrup for the pecan filling. Perhaps this altered the consistency as well?
3. I used coconut cookies for my crust instead of wafers. No sugar needed. Just melted butter to hold it together.
4. I didn’t make the topping … the cheesecake is indulgent enough on its own.
I hope this helps and everyone’s cheesecake comes out as lovely as mine did.
Thank you for this lovely recipe, Vera and Lil’ Luna!
Thank you for sharing your tips!! I hope that helps others! Glad it turned out!!
Look absolutely wonderful. Can’t wait to try it.
I’d love to know what you think! Hope you enjoy!!
I made this twice. The first time it took way longer to cook than directions but I think that’s because I over whipped the cheesecake filling. The pecan filling was hard as a rock but that’s because I didn’t do a water bath and because it had to cook for an hour longer. It still tasted good. It wasn’t until I read the comments that I saw the water bath is required. So the second time I didn’t overwhip it and put it in a water bath. It came out great! I’m excited for my family to try this on Christmas! Thank you for sharing this!
You’re welcome!! I’m glad it turned out! Thank you for sharing!!
I made this Tuesday, and cut into it last night. It was absolutely wonderful! I kept seeing reviews about the bottom layer becoming hard, so I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. The bottom layer never got hard though, so i am very pleased. I did use a water bath when cooking it.
Thank you so much for sharing that and I’m so glad it turned out!! Thanks again!
My husband ordinarily is not a fan of cheese cake but we have found the exception pecan pie cheese cake. Delicious, fairly easy to prepare and looks fantastic. I will certainly be making this again.
Glad you guys liked it! Thanks for making it!
I made the pecan pie cheesecake. We love it at this house. The only thing is that the crust was way too hard, we had to cut off some of it once we cut our pieces. Any suggestions about what I did wrong maybe.
I don’t, but this is a contributors recipe. Vera at http://omgchocolatedesserts.com/. If, you’d like to ask her, she could help answer your questions. Hope that helps you!!
Boy, was this ever good. A hit at this year’s Friendsgiving Party. Turned out so yummy. I used a cheesecake bath and cooled everything as indicated and there were no cracks. There was some moisture leaking from the bottom of the spring form pan but I just soaked it up with a paper towel. It had no effect on the cheesecake. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
That’s great to hear!! Thank you so much for letting us know!! So, glad it was a hit!
I made this for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was HEAVENLY!!! I did follow the recipe exactly, and so didn’t bake it in a water bath, as I usually do for cheesecakes. And it cracked. Not a problem though, cause the topping filled it in and covered it up. Voila, no more crack. Just a beautifully presented, delicious cake that everyone raved about! This will become a Thanksgiving tradition in our household from now on! Thank you, Kristyn, for this awesome recipe!
I’m so glad that it turned out and that everyone liked it!!! Thanks so much for letting me know!!
Made this a few days ago for Thanksgiving. The flavors were great! However, I too found the bottom layer to become hard. Was difficult (but not impossible) to cut and chewy to eat. May leave that part out and just keep the topping next time or perhaps mix the bottom sauce into the cheesecake batter.
I will pass that along to my contributor, but thank you for giving it a try and I’m glad it still turned out!!
I am going to be making these for Thanksgiving and switching to mini cheesecakes. Anything I would need to change?
I’m not sure. This recipe is from Vera at http://omgchocolatedesserts.com/, if you’d like to ask her. Hope that helps!! Good luck!