This dessert has it all. It's a layered dessert that starts with a crust slightly crunchy Graham cookies, a layer of sweet, but spicy cream cheese, a layer of vanilla pudding sprinkled with pumpkin, topped with whipped cream, and sprinkled with crunchy chocolate caramel pieces and chips to give it texture. There's plenty of pumpkin flavour for a perfect fall dessert. I used vanilla pudding, but pumpkin pudding would be great.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Graham cookie breadcrumbs
8 ounces brick-style cream cheese, softened (light is fine)
1 cup icing sugar
A 3.4-ounce can of instant vanilla pudding
1 1/4 cups cold milk (use cow's milk and do not almond, soy, cashews, etc. because the pudding does not thicken; the can will say 2 cups, but use 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
an 8-ounce whipped filling, thawed (fat-free or); divided
1/2 cup caramel pieces
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F. Cover a 9 x 9-inch baking sheet with aluminum foil, sprinkle with a baking plaster; leave out.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat over high heat to melt, about 1 minute.
Add the Graham cookie crumbs and mix lightly with a fork to coat the crumbs.
Turn the mixture into a prepared pan, forming a flat, smooth, flat layer of the crust by patting the crumbs in place with a spatula or fingertips.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until cooked through; Let it cool for 10 minutes so as not to melt the cream cheese in the next step.
In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese, and icing sugar and beat with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until smooth and combined.
Flip the cream cheese mixture over the Graham cookie rind and spread it in a flat layer with a spatula or knife. Be careful and do not tear the bark a little fragile; leave it out.
In a large bowl, add the pudding mixture, and milk and beat with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stop scraping the walls of the bowl.
Add pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spices and whisk to incorporate.
Add 1/2 cup of whipped filling and whisk to stir in.
Flip the pumpkin mixture over the cream cheese layer, using a spatula to smooth it.
Evenly distribute the remaining 1 1/2 cups of whipped filling over the pumpkin layer.
Sprinkle caramel chips, and chocolate chips, cover with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours (overnight is preferred) before cutting and serving. The dessert will remain airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.