No-Bake Vintage Pumpkin Pie Recipe

We get stuck in unexplainable ruts sometimes, but marketers have it figured out. It’s not unusual to see Christmas in July sales, and coffee shops have us craving pumpkin lattes in August, way ahead of the seasons and holidays when those dishes are featured.

Right now, though, it’s pumpkin harvest time! I love seeing the displays and wearing jack-o-lantern oranges, sunflower yellows and crinkly leaf browns. The special scents of autumn conjure up wonderful memories of hobo stews around campfires, and the cinnamon/nutmeg treats we tend to save for this time of year.

My brain does some do-si-do -ing juggling deadlines, recalling fun past antics, living in chaotic present moments (and enjoying most of them) while dealing with content for publications in the future. Add to those challenges the technology involved in researching and putting it all together, my mind is as mushy as canned pumpkin puree sometimes!

That item is always on the grocery shelves, except if one waits till the last minute later in the family holiday season, which is gearing up quickly. This is a favorite recipe using that canned goodness. Try it ahead of the Halloween parties and Thanksgiving dessert tables. It just might become one of those pies you decide you don’t need a special occasion to fix. And…it’s no-bake. A pie that’s a piece of cake to prepare!

My sister gave me this one. When I asked where she got the recipe, she pulled out of her file a crinkled page from a 1993 Good Housekeeping magazine. No-bake and vintage, too!

Here are the ingredients for a Sensational Double Layer Pumpkin Pie: 4 oz cream cheese, softened; 2 pkgs (4 serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding; 1 tbsp milk or half-and-half; 1 can pumpkin (16 oz); 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 ½ cups thawed whipped topping; ½ tsp ground ginger; 1 graham cracker pie crust; ¼ tsp ground cloves; 1 cup milk or half-and-half.

First Layer - Mix cream cheese with the tablespoons of milk and the sugar with wire whisk in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in whipped topping and spread on the crust.

Second Layer - Pour 1 cup milk into a bowl. Add pudding mix and beat with whisk until well blended. It will be thick. Whisk in pumpkin and spices. Mix well. Spread over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Garnish with more whipped topping and nuts if desired.

Google a spiced pumpkin latte recipe to enjoy a pumpkin evening as October settles in.