Pumpkin Pie Mousse Tarts!!

As I previously mentioned, last weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. This one was extra special for me, because I decided to try my hand at making Thanksgiving dinner -  all on my own!

My mom was a phone call away for all of my novice questions.. “Does the stuffing have to go in a bag, or can it go straight in the turkey?” (For those wondering, either works!)

Luckily,  I avoided making any noob mistakes  - though I narrowly escaped cooking the gizzards in the neck. Somewhat surprisingly, everything turned out great! The turkey was perfectly browned and moist, The stuffing was delicious (even though it wasn’t mom’s recipe), and I managed to get the mashed potatoes right. This is a feat given that I don’t actually like or eat mashed potatoes! Mom was there for guidance while working  on the gravy, which was the most complicated part.

It was a great success!

I have to say though, the star of the show was dessert. Hands down.

I kept everything traditional for the dinner, but wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary for dessert. Being Thanksgiving, I didn’t want to stray TOO far from the standard pumpkin pie. The result was nothing short of amazing.

You know when you make some recipes you have such high hopes and the results end up being  a little “ehhh.” This is not one of those recipes. This recipe was more delicious than I had anticipated. This recipe is super easy and, in my opinion, it is BETTER than pumpkin pie.

 

Pumpkin Pie Mousse!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 can pumpkin – not pumpkin pie filling, not a large can
• 2 small packages instant vanilla pudding
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups lightly sweetened whipped cream (make sure to use the real stuff!)
• 1 pre-cooked pie crust or 12 pre-cooked tart shells*

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix both packages of vanilla pudding with 1 cup of milk and stir.

Add the pumpkin. Whisk to combine.

Add the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Whisk to combine.

Fold in 2 cups of whipped cream.

Spoon into baked pie crust or tart shells.

Spread whipped cream over pumpkin filling.  (I added dollops to the top of my tarts)

Sprinkle lightly with pumpkin pie spice over the top.

 

* The recipe I used said it serves 8, but I had a full bowl of leftover filling after making 12 heaping tarts. You could probably make 20 regular tarts with this filling.

If you’re looking for something a little different this Thanksgiving, try these! You can thank me later! ;)

R.