Pumpkin Mousse Parfait Recipe

During the holiday season, food plays a large part in the various gatherings.  One of the most important courses of a good holiday meal is dessert. At Thanksgiving, the desserts often make good use of the fruits, vegetables, and spices that are abundant during this time of year.  Everything seems to include apples, sweet potatoes, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and the like.  One of my new favorite desserts is pumpkin mousse, served as a parfait.

Picture this:

You’ve just finished eating a delicious Thanksgiving feast complete with all of your favorites. There was a decadent macaroni and cheese; you know, with the crispy edges, tender collard greens with smoked turkey, seasoned just right. A beautiful sweet potato soufflé, covered with a pecan and brown sugar topping (no marshmallows, please!), moist cornbread dressing – just like Grandma used to make and, of course, a couple of slices of that juicy, flavorful Cajun-fried turkey were all laid out to enjoy! YUM! You’re now full to your eyeballs with that wonderfully satisfying meal but you’re still craving something sweet! Of course, there are all kinds of cakes and pies available but, you just want something a little lighter.

Or, you’ve been invited to celebrate the holiday with a group of close-knit friends and you volunteered to bring dessert. You want something fitting for the season yet memorable. Why not try something that’s a bit of a break from the traditional sweet potato or pecan pie? (These are my favorite Thanksgiving pies, by the way… I like to take thin slivers of each and eat them together!)

So, what makes this mousse so good?

Made from a scrumptious combination of cream cheese, pumpkin, whipped topping, and spices, these beauties are super easy and quick to make. This recipe can be made in one bowl so there’s minimal cleanup. Plus, these pumpkin mousse parfaits can be prepared and assembled before you sit down to dinner, so they’ll be ready when it’s time for the dessert course to begin!

As a special treat, I add vanilla and bourbon to the mixture. It adds warmth with the combination of autumn spices. And, since I’ve always loved gingersnaps and their crunch, I tend to add a few more crumbled cookies than the recipe calls for. I’ve found that the simplest way to crush the gingersnaps is with a plastic zipper-top bag and heavy rolling pin (or heavy glass if you don’t have a rolling pin). Place a portion of the cookies into the bag and using a crushing and/or rolling motion, break the cookies up to pieces, small enough to crumble.

How should you serve a pumpkin mousse parfait?

Depending on who you’ll serve these to, choose your serving dish carefully. For a family dinner, where there are small children or a significant number of people – like, more than 8 to 12, I’d suggest you opt for small, plastic dessert cups which can be found your local party supply store. For a small, intimate group, why not use the “good” stuff? Your pretty crystal dessert cups or small martini glasses would be perfect!  For presentation, sprinkle a little extra pie spice on the finished parfait as a garnish.

 

See the original recipe here.