I first mentioned this dessert last week as something to make to welcome in autumn. I'm not a huge pumpkin fan, but I do love cheesecake, especially the light, no-bake kind. I'd first seen this recipe here, so if you'd like to see the original (hers is much fancier than mine), give it a look.
The recipe is pretty simple and sort of similar to Oreo Dirt Cake.
Ingredients:
15 cookies, crushed into crumbs
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz), softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice**
1 container (12 oz) whipped topping (like Cool Whip)
**Note: if you don't have or can't find pumpkin pie spice, it's very easy to make yourself:
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon allspice
Directions:
First you need to crush up the cookies - or buy cookie/graham cracker crumbs. I used shortbread cookies with chocolate swirls and blitzed them in my Ninja blender. Love that blender - I use it for so much. A couple of seconds in the blender and I had perfect cookie crumbs.
If you don't have a blender you can put the cookies in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin or heavy-bottomed drinking glass.
Mix the crumbs in a bowl with a tablespoon of melted butter. Make sure the crumbs are well coated. Divide the crumbs up into the serving dishes, reserving a tablespoon of crumbs for garnish at the end. I used lowball drinking glasses and used a flat bottomed spice bottle to press the crumbs firmly into the bottom of each.
In a new mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree and cream cheese, and stir until they are thoroughly blended. I used the Ninja for this as well but you could use electric beaters. Add the vanilla, sugar, and pumpkin spice. Stir until smooth. Add one half of the container of whipped topping and stir again until everything is well mixed.
Spoon a layer of the pumpkin mixture on top of the cookie layer, follow with a layer of the whipped topping. Repeat with the pumpkin mixture and the whipped topping until you get to the top of the glass. Sprinkle a bit of the reserved cookie crumbs onto the top of the dessert for garnish. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Isn't that pretty? These turned out rather large - Tom and I could easily share one. I'd like to use something like shot glasses next time.
It's a really light dessert with just the right amount of pumpkin flavour. And they take no time at all to make. Twenty minutes tops. And that means you get to enjoy more of the holiday instead of being stuck in the kitchen.
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I'm linking up here this week!
