No Bake Pumpkin Mousse Pie

 I ADORE pumpkin. But not so much pumpkin pie. It’s a bit heavy for my taste. Enter this light as air pumpkin mousse pie. Imagine a pumpkin pie so fluffy, so pouffy it’s like a pumpkin-y pillow on your fork. It’s got all the flavors of a classic pumpkin pie, without the fussy gelatin or whipped egg whites. My ingenious method sidesteps the need to soften your cream cheese, too 🙂 Oh, and did I mention the zippy gingersnap crust? Could be the perfect Thanksgiving dessert!

INGREDIENTS

GINGERSNAP CRUST

2 cups gingersnap crumbs*

5 Tbsp salted butter, melted

MOUSSE

15 ounces canned pumpkin puree

8 ounces brick style cream cheese

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 Tbsp vanilla paste

pinch salt

1 cup heavy cream, whipped. This will be 2 cups of whipped cream, or an 8 ounce tub of whipped topping.

GARNISH

whipped cream or whipped topping

freshly grated nutmeg, or you can use pumpkin pie spice.

INSTRUCTIONS

CRUST

Toss the gingersnap crumbs with the melted butter, I like to use a fork. Toss until everything is evenly moistened.

Pat the crust into your buttered pie plate, pressing down evenly on the bottom and up the sides. You can use the bottom of a measuring cup to help flatten the crust. Put in the refrigerator while you continue with the pie.

PIE

Blend together the cream cheese, pumpkin, brown sugar, spice, vanilla, and salt. I do this in a food processor because it purees everything super smooth and you can start with cold cream cheese. If you want to use a stand mixer or an electric mixer you will need to start with very soft cream cheese to avoid lumps.

Fold in the 2 cups of whipped cream or your tub of whipped topping until no streaks are left. Fold gently so as not to deflate your whipped cream.

Turn the mousse into your crust and spread out to the edges. You can give the surface a swirled effect, or smooth it out, that's up to you.

Cover with foil, tenting the foil so it doesn't mar the surface of your pie, and chill in the refrigerator for six hours or ideally overnight. You can pop it in the freezer to hasten the chilling if you need to.

GARNISH

When ready to serve garnish the top of the chilled pie with whipped cream or whipped topping and a sprinkle of grated nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice.

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