Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse

As usual, Monday = treat day. Last night was a specific treat day, because I am the hostess for Stamp & Chat this week. I was in the neighborhood of trying to find a healthy treat, and I stumbled on this recipe on – say it with me, everyone! – Pinterest! This has to be one of the easiest recipes I’ve tried. Here’s the recipe:

1 8-oz pkg fat free cream cheese

1 cup canned pumpkin

½ cup Splenda

½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tub (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed. (Do NOT add to recipe unless until completely thawed)

With an electric mixer, mix the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the Splenda and pumpkin pie spice and continue to mix until well combined. Unload the whipped topping from the tub, and using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon (DO NOT USE ELECTRIC MIXER), gently fold the whipped topping into the mixture, stopping as soon as the ingredients are blended.

Over stirring will cause the whipped topping to lose too much air.

Spoon the mousse into individual dessert bowls (I fancily used 9-oz plastic cups), cover, and refrigerate for ½ hours, or until mixture is set. If desired, sprinkle each mousse with a light dusking of pumpkin pie spice before serving.

And ta-daaaa! Pretty easy, and they are pretty dang good. You can’t even tell that you’re using a sugar substitute or fat-free cream cheese. Of course, I haven’t tried the ‘set’ version yet, just as soon as it was mixed, but I don’t think the taste would vary that much. With a treat this easy and this healthy, it might be a pretty good treat to serve all over the place this fall.

It's here, it's time!

Fall is my favorite time of the year. The weather is lovely, jackets are all the rage, and the holidays are the best. It's sad that there's no soccer, but EPL kicks in, so I watch those to pacify my need for the sport. The best thing of all though, is a food, found at the Olive Garden. I don't know how many of you knows of the deliciousness of the pumpkin cheesecake, but if you have never had it, I am telling you to go right now. Stop reading, get in your car, and order a slice. It is delicious.
We went to the Olive Garden on Friday night, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw that they already had the pumpkin cheesecake. I was totally psyched though, and of course, ordered it. I wait all year for this. They only serve it from the end of September to December, so you have to get in during this time to get it. I've had the pumpkin cheesecake at many places, but nobody does it quite as well as the Olive Garden does. I don't know what it is about it from there, but its so good. I'm hoping to get back to the Garden at least a couple more times before the end of the year, to take advantage of the deliciousness of it. I do get sick of that place sometimes, so maybe I'll have to go there, grab some cheesecake and leave.
I can't believe I just did a blog about a dessert, but there ya have it. It is that good, though. I am telling you all that you need to get to the Olive Garden in the next little while, to get a piece of this. Just look at that picture - I can tell you're salivating already!