Sunday, April 7, 2013

Out of Season: Pumpkin Fluff for Easter

I bought the ingredients for this recipe a while ago, but never really had the occasion to make it, so it waited a while.  I finally decided it would work well as a dish to bring for a family Easter event. Even though Easter is usually loaded with light and lemony desserts, I figured I would go with a Fall flavor, mainly because it was easy to throw together on a busy weekend when you've got a toddler.  Plus it seemed like all the other dishes that came to mind were too difficult to serve at the right temperature.

Inspiration

Recipe Diaries Pumpkin Fluff

Pudding mix plus pumpkin
This is a Weight Watchers dessert, but I skip the sugar-free pudding mix.  Somehow it's ok in my mind to use light Cool Whip but not light pudding mix.  Go figure.

Ingredients

  • 15 oz can pumpkin puree
  • 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
  • pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tub light Cool Whip

 

Directions

Mix the first three ingredients together really well.  At this point you can mix it pretty heartily, but when you add the Cool Whip you need to be a little more delicate so you don't deflate it.  

It might help to mix a little bit of the Cool Whip in to lighten up the mixture and then add the rest.  You're supposed to let it sit for at least a couple hours, probably to hydrate the pudding mix. 

Finished fluff

Verdict

Creamy, lush, and not too sweet. 

If you close your eyes, you would probably say it's a bite of pumpkin pie with Cool Whip on top.  When you mix only four ingredients like this it's obvious it's not going to transform into something else, but sometimes it's nice to know exactly what you're getting.

By itself, the fluff is fine, but nothing impressive.  Itt is much better when scooped onto spicy, crunchy gingersnap cookies -- they're an excellent counterpart to the soft texture and creamy coolness.

Wanna Chat?

I turned off the 'leave a comment' feature, so if you want to share what you're thinking about this or anything else, drop me an email at jhk1013 (at) gmail.com. It's so much more cozy than a comment, plus we can have a real conversation!