The Best Holiday Pumpkin Desserts

With the Holidays right around the corner, I have to share a couple of recipes. These pumpkin desserts are requested every single year. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Pumpkin Dessert

Butter Crunch Crust:

Combine the following ingredients then loosely pack in 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before adding pumpkin mixture ( about 10 minutes)

1 cup butter, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 cups flour (I use Gluten free all purpose flour to make GF)

Pumpkin Mixture:

6 slightly beaten eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp nutmeg spice.

Combine above ingredients and beat well (I use my blender) add 3 1/2 cups pumpkin and 2 cups half and half (I find baking my own smaller pie pumpkins are the best vs canned)

Pour mixture over baked crust

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1/1/2 hours until knife inserted in center comes out clean. For an extra special touch make your own whipped cream with the freshest heavy cream you can find and beat until peaks, then add powdered sugar and vanilla to taste. (tip: place glass bowl and beaters in freezer for a couple of hours before whipping cream)

This second recipe is from my friend Brenda and she said hers was everyone's favorite but did admit she thinks it would be even better with the butter crunch crust. I don't know but I think a bake off might be in our future.

Eggnog Pumpkin Pie Dessert

1 -1/4 cups eggnog (I used Southern Comfort Vanilla Spice Eggnog)

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1- 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)

Directions: In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, eggnog, sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Pour into pastry shell.

Bake at 375 degrees for 60 – 65 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings.