I was killing time on one of my favorite sites this morning (VeryBestBaking.com) and came across this recipe. I immediately printed it out and thought I would make it for one of our Thanksgiving desserts. But then I was reminded of the time I tried a new stuffing recipe and everyone hated it - and me - for making it. There was also the time I tried making gravy a different way - that was pretty much a 50/50 deal - half liked it and half didn't - so now I make two gravies so everyone is happy. When it comes to Thanksgiving, my family does not like anything different than what they've previously had....they want my mothers stuffing and her sweet potatoes and they want my pies and the turkey cooked the same way year after year....afterall, that's what traditions are all about, right? But I like to try new things....what if this dessert turned out to be better than my pumpkin pie? Or what if it was better than my drunken pecan pie? (Now that would really be something!) What if it was the dessert to end all desserts? How would I know unless I tried it? So there you have it - a true Thanksgiving dessert dilemma.....I just had to make this to find out what we might be missing. And, as it turns out, it was pretty good....will it make the T-Day table? Probably not....but only because we don't need another dessert and it finally dawned on me that I can't possibly eliminate one of our traditional desserts without causing some sort of police action. That being said, this dessert will definitely be made the day AFTER Thanksgiving - everyone will have had their traditional meal and by then they'll be ready to try something new - at least that's what I'm going with.
Pumpkin Mousse in Cinnamon Pastry Shells
(Adapted from VeryBestBaking.com)
This is quick to make, yet looks like it took hours and it serves 12. If you've never used frozen puff pastry shells before you will be amazed at how easy they are - and they taste great! It's light and airy and would be the perfect ending to any meal from October thru December.
2 boxes (10 oz. each) frozen puff pastry shells
3 tablespoons melted butter
*Cinnamon sugar
1 can (30 oz.) Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix (this is NOT the pure pumpkin - it's the one with the spices already in it)
1 box (3.4 oz.) Vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
**2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place frozen pastry shells on baking sheet. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Bake according to package directions. Cool to room temperature. Remove tops and reserve for garnish. Remove soft pastry inside shells and discard. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar lightly inside pastry shells.
Beat pumpkin pie mix, pudding mix and cinnamon in large mixer bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Gently fold in whipped topping. Spoon about 1/3 cup pumpkin mousse into each pastry shell. Top with pastry tops. Serve immediately.
*For cinnamon sugar: Combine 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
**The original recipe calls for only 1 cup of whipped topping - but I wanted the mousse to be lighter and not so pumpkiny (is that a word?) so I added an additional cup and I loved it. I also added cinnamon-sugar to the inside of the shells and that made a nice, noticeable difference as well.
T-Day....7 days and counting.....
