Honeycrisp apples are cored and stuffed with delicious pumpkin cheesecake filling before being baked to perfection. Serve topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup! The perfect easy fall treat!
Baked apples are one of my favorite fall desserts! They are easy and quick to make, taste delicious, and make the house smell amazing. I thought I’d kick my baked apple game up a notch this year by making Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed Baked Apples! This recipe easily fills 8 large hollowed apples, with extra filling leftover. Leftover pumpkin cheesecake filling can be used multiple ways. Bake the leftover filling in greased ramekins to create mini cheesecakes. Top brownies with dollops of cheesecake and bake for a delicious fall brownie. Freeze unbaked cheesecake in covered, sealed container, and use in apples at a later date.
Ingredients Needed for Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed Baked Apples
- 8 Honeycrisp apples
- 1 block softened cream cheese, 8 ounces
- 1/2 can pumpkin, 7.5 ounces
- 1/2 C sugar, scant
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 sleeve cinnamon graham crackers, crushed
- 2 T butter, melted
Best Apples to Use for Baked Apples
Determining the “best” apple to use for a baked apple is solely a matter of preference. Here are a few solid options and my opinions on the pros and cons of each.
- Honeycrisp – Delicious, sweet, large enough for filling, but take longer to bake. Produces a firmer baked apple with some crunch. Not ideal if you prefer a completely tender baked apple.
- Macintosh – Perfect baked apple with soft texture and delicious flavor. Does not look as pretty once baked and filling may ooze out as apple breaks down during bake time.
- SweetTango – Hybrid apple between a Honeycrisp and Zestar apple. Sweet and tangy but smaller in size. Will take less filling. Baked texture is one of my favorites and smaller portion size option isn’t necessarily a bad thing!
- Braeburn – Firm and slightly spicy sweet and holds shape beautifully in oven. Produces a firmer baked apple.
- Granny Smith – Tart and tangy and perfect for filling. Will bake to an all yellow color which doesn’t look as appealing with baked cheesecake.
I used Honeycrisp apples in this recipe and baked for 40 minutes. This produced a softened but not mushy apple. Bake for five more minutes if a softer apple is preferred.
How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed Baked Apples
Using a melon baller or metal measuring spoon, scoop out the core of the apples. Take care not to remove the bottoms of the apples.
Melt your butter and brush half of the melted butter inside each apple using a pastry brush.
Add your crushed cinnamon graham crackers to the remaining butter and mix until well combined. Spoon 1-2 Tablespoons of graham mixture to the bottom of each apple and pack tightly with back of spoon.
In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, canned pumpkin, sugar, egg, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice and mix with hand or stand mixer until smooth and creamy.
How to Make 1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make it by combining cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. To make 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, fill a teaspoon with ¼teaspoonground nutmeg, ¼teaspoonground ginger, ⅛teaspoonground cloves, and the rest of the teaspoon with cinnamon. I like to add a little more cinnamon for good measure.
Your cheesecake mixture should be smooth and creamy with minimal lumps. Using softened cream cheese will ensure a smooth texture, so be sure to allow your cream cheese to come up to room temperature before mixing.
Using two soup spoons, fill each apple with the pumpkin cheesecake mixture. Fill to the brim, but do not overfill.
Bake in a preheated, 350º oven for 40-45 minutes if using Honeycrisp apples. If using smaller apples, bake for 35-40 minutes. I used my leftover filling to create two small cheesecakes in pregreased ramekins. 
Serve your baked apples immediately from the oven!
Top with whipped cream, crumbled graham crackers, and caramel sauce. A scoop of vanilla ice cream would also pair nicely with these! Enjoy!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed Baked Apples Recipe
Rating: 5
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 8 baked apples
Ingredients
- 8 Honeycrisp apples
- 1 block cream cheese, 8 ounces
- 1/2 can pumpkin, 7.5 ounces
- 1/2 C sugar, scant
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 sleeve cinnamon graham crackers, crushed
- 2 T butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Use a melon baller to remove apple cores, careful to leave bottoms of apples intact. Melt butter and brush 1/2 (approximately 1 T of melted butter) inside each apple. Set apples aside.
- In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, canned pumpkin, sugar, egg, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice and mix with hand or stand mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Crush cinnamon graham crackers and mix in small bowl with remaining 1 T melted butter.
- Place approximately 1 tablespoon of crushed crackers into bottom of each apple and pack tightly.
- Spoon pumpkin cheesecake mixture into each apple until filled to brim.
- Top each apple with remaining crushed graham crackers.
- Place filled apples on a jelly roll pan or casserole dish and bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until apples are soft. Note: Apple type and size will impact baking times. Use your own judgment and preference to test for doneness.
Notes
This recipe WILL most likely make more filling than is needed for 8 apples. Leftover pumpkin cheesecake filling can be used multiple ways. Bake the leftover filling in greased ramekins to create mini cheesecakes. Top brownies with dollops of cheesecake and bake for a delicious fall brownie. Freeze unbaked cheesecake in covered, sealed container, and use in apples at a later date.
https://www.homestoriesatoz.com/recipes/pumpkin-cheesecake-stuffed-baked-apples-recipe.html
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