Autumn Fool

And I'm done!!!  Well, I've hit 50,000 words.  The story is far from over.  I'm guessing about 100,000 words.  And that's with cutting stuff.  What this means is that I can now devote time to cooking without feeling guilty.  Plus, my thumb is well enough that I can go without a bandage and cut acidic foods without pain.  And just in the nick of time!

This one was in the L.A. Times months ago.  I just needed the time and pumpkin to pull it off.  I subbed a few ingredients and did not make the graham crackers from scratch, as tempting as it sounded.  This version has fewer calories and takes about fifteen minutes to make.

I only had two of the cool Irish Coffee mugs, so I made the other two in old-style champagne goblets.  You don't get as many layers, but it looks elegant.  A champagne flute would also be acceptable.

Oh, I found out you can't whip previously frozen whipping cream.  Should have researched that one before putting it in the freezer.  You can still use it in recipes requiring whole cream, like sauces, soups, ganache, or ice cream.  It just won't whip.  I estimated how much whip out of the can would produce the desired effect.  My yield was a touch lower than it would have been, but not enough that a newbie would know the difference.

And they had Ding Dongs at the market!  I was disappointed when I opened my box and they are all individually wrapped... in plastic.  No tissue-thin foil wrapper.  Perhaps that's why they seem to taste a bit different.  Not bad, just different.

4 graham crackers, pulverized (about 1 cup)
3/4 C whipping cream
1/2 C (4 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C pumpkin purée
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1.  Start beating the whipping cream in the stand mixer.  At soft peaks, add brown sugar and cream cheese.  Beat until firm peaks form.

2.  Stir cinnamon into pumpkin.  Fold the pumpkin purée into the whipped cream, and you now have your filling.

3.  To assemble, line bottom of four 8oz cups or jars with 1 Tb of graham cracker crumbs.  Fill a pastry bag or plastic zipper bag with filling and use a plain 1/2" tip (or small snip of the corner of the bag).  Pipe a 1/2" layer of filling over crumbs.  Add another layer of crumbs, then another layer of filling.  Continue as needed, ending with the crumbs on top.  Chill for at least an hour, then decorate with a dollop of whipped cream before serving.

Difficulty rating  π