Creamy Layered Pumpkin Pie in a Jar

I love the Christmas music that's playing all around and every time I hear The Carpenter's "Home for the Holidays" with the line about heading for some homemade pumpkin pie, it makes me want some. Ironically, neither of us are big fans of traditional pumpkin pie but this year I've been experimenting more with pumpkin and decided to see if I could come up with a pie we liked. I realized I don't care for the usual homogeneous flavor and that gave me the idea to deconstruct it. How did it turn out? Let me tell you, this is the most amazing dessert we never knew how much we wanted!

Layers of sweet creamy cheese mixture, sweet pumpkin and graham cracker crumbs come together on a spoon in the most divine way. I made them in jars for Thanksgiving because I gave them to my guests as take-home gifts and the verdict was unanimous. Those that love pumpkin pie, loved this. Those that don't like pumpkin pie, loved this. I left a couple in the fridge for me and Brian and we scraped the jars for every last bit of gooey, yummy deliciousness and then licked the rims. Enjoy!







Ingredients
1 pre-baked graham cracker crust

For the Cream Layer:
8 oz. Cream cheese at room temperature
8 oz. Frozen whipped topping, at room temperature
1 Teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup milk

For the Pumpkin Layer:
1 Can (approx. 15 oz.) unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 Package (4 serving) vanilla instant pudding
2 Cups milk (to make the pudding)
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons of the cream layer mixture

Crumble the pre-made crust into crumbs and place aside. In a bowl, thoroughly combine the cream layer ingredients until the mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl, make the vanilla pudding with the milk according to the instructions on the package. Combine it with the pumpkin puree, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Add a couple of tablespoons of the cream mixture to the pumpkin mixture.

To assemble the jars, place a couple of tablespoons of cream layer at the bottom of each jar, add a generous layer of graham cracker crust crumbs, add a couple of tablespoons of the pumpkin mixture and top that with more crumbs. Repeat for as many layers as your jar will hold. This recipe should make enough for eight, 8 oz. jars.