Thursday, October 9, 2008

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Canadian Thanksgiving is this coming Monday, October 13.

I've never been a big fan of pastry, but I do like a tasty pumpkin dessert at Thanksgiving. I found the original recipe for this fabulous dessert several years ago in The Winnipeg Free Press. This is so much easier and faster than making pastry!Like most of my recipes, I've done a little tweaking to the ingredients over the years but it is basically the same and is always a hit when I serve it!

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Crust Ingredients:1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

Filling Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups cooked pumpkin or squash
1 (12oz/398ml) can evaporated milk or coconut milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Topping Ingredients:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all crust ingredients in small bowl. Beat at low speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press onto bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until smooth; pour over crust. Continue baking 20 minutes.

Stir together topping ingredients in small bowl; sprinkle over filling. Continue baking for 15 to 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely. Leftovers should be covered and refrigerated. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

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Note: You really CAN'T tell the difference between squash and pumpkin once all the other ingredients are added. Also, coconut milk is a similar thickness to evaporated milk and half the price! It also makes the dessert more tolerable for anyone who is lactose intolerant. You will find it in the Asian food section of most major grocery stores.

Optional: I have also added a 1/3 cup of finely chopped dark or bittersweet chocolate to the topping mix just to give a hint of chocolate to this fantastic dessert!

I serve this warm, with whipped topping or my homemade ice cream (vanilla or pumpkin)

Enjoy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!
dn

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