Caramel Pumpkin Pretzel Cheesecake

Thick and creamy pumpkin cheesecake with a pretzel crust, salted caramel, and crushed pretzels for that extra crunch moment.

Cheesecake gives me all the fall and holiday vibes. I make cheesecake every year for several get togethers on my side and my husbands side of the family. I don’t even ask what people want me to bring at this point. We all know it’s cheesecake. So I’m always looking for ways to switch up the flavors and make it exciting, and this Caramel Pumpkin Pretzel Cheesecake is really ticking all the boxes for me – thick, creamy, dense, sweet, salty, plus a little crunch.

Cheesecakes are notoriously intimidating to bake. There’s lots of steps, and lots that could potentially go wrong. But, rest assured, I have made probably hundreds of cheesecakes and I’m here to guide you through it with process shots and spill all my tips and tricks to make sure you nail it. Let’s get after it!

How to Make Caramel Pumpkin Pretzel Cheesecake

Make the Pretzel Crust

When making a pretzel crust, I like to use a blend of graham crackers and pretzels. I have found that adding the grahams in there helps the crust hold it’s shape and not crumble when sliced.

Preheat the oven to 350. Crush the grahams and pretzels, and stir them together in a medium sized bowl along with the brown sugar. Stir in the melted butter until everything is well coated and moist. Press the crust into a spring form pan using a small measuring cup. First press the crust up the sides, and then even out the bottom. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then cool completely.

Make the Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling

The most important thing when making cheesecake filling is that your ingredients are at room temperature. The cream cheese needs to be VERY soft. I like to let mine hang out on the counter for at least 3 hours before starting. If you need to rush along that process, place the cream cheese in a warm location like next to your oven or fireplace or in the sun. I also may or may not have put it in the waistband of my leggings a time or two! Ha! Ok, now once you’ve got that taken care of…

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese by itself for 10 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl every couple of minutes to make sure all of the cream cheese is getting whipped – this will help prevent lumps. Add the sugar and mix for another 2 minutes. Add the flour, salt, and cinnamon, mix to combine. Add in the pumpkin puree, mix to combine. Give the bowl another good scrape to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.

Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla. Again, be sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure everything is getting evenly mixed. I know we’re doing a lot of bowl scraping, but this is how you’re going to get a perfectly smooth cheesecake with no lumps. Trust.

Bake the Caramel Pumpkin Pretzel Cheesecake

Ok so one huge thing I’ve learned over my years of cheesecake baking, is making ABSOLUTE sure that no water gets into the crust. I always bake my cheesecakes in a water bath to ensure the best texture and to help prevent cracks, but sticking a pan that comes apart into a pool of water is a little risky. If your springform pan doesn’t have a PERFECT seal, you’re gonna get a soggy crust and that’s just bad times had by all. What I like to do, is wrap my springform pan with a slow cooker liner. They can stand up to the heat of the oven, and won’t let any water get into that crunchy crust. Just lay the slow cooker liner down on the counter, set the pan inside, then pull the liner up around the edges as tightly as possible and tie it in a knot to prevent it from falling down.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set the prepared springform into a large roasting pan (or any pan large enough to hold it) and pour water into the roasting pan so that it comes up the sides of the springform about 2 inches. Then, pour the pumpkin cheesecake batter into the cooled pretzel crust. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, then lower the oven temp to 325 and bake for an additional 45 minutes. The cheesecake is done when it is set, but still has a slight jiggle in the middle.

Turn the oven off, but leave the cheesecake inside with the door about half way open for about an hour, then transfer to the fridge to cool completely. Controlling the change in temperature this way, versus placing a piping hot cheesecake directly into the fridge will also help to prevent cracks.

Make the Salted Caramel Sauce

You can absolutely buy a store bought caramel sauce, but making it yourself is actually really easy and tastes roughly a million times better.

In a medium saucepan – I recommend using stainless steel or enameled cast iron over nonstick – add the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Use a rubber spatula to give it a light stir, just to make sure all of the sugar gets moistened. Place the pan over medium high heat. Once bubbles start to form around the edges, cover the pan for 3 minutes. This just creates steam and forces any sugar on the sides of the pan back into the caramel and prevents it from crystalizing.

Remove the lid and continue to cook the caramel until it reaches a dark amber color. Then, remove from heat and let it sit for 30 seconds. Use a wooden spoon with a long handle to carefully stir the caramel as you slowly pour in the cream. Be careful it’s super hot and will steam when you pour in the cream. Continue to stir until it comes together and is smooth. Then, stir in the salt and butter. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Pour the cooled caramel over the chilled cheesecake and top with extra crushed pretzels. I prefer to serve the cheesecake chilled, but it’s also great at room temperature. Cheesecake will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

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If you loved the recipe for this Caramel Pumpkin Pretzel Cheesecake, be sure to check out some of my other fall bakes like these Pumpkin Pretzel Cheesecake Brownies, and these Kitchen Sink Pumpkin Cookies.