Pumpkin Butterscotch Layer Dessert
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This scrumptious Pumpkin Butterscotch Layer Dessert has a cookie crust, a pumpkin cheesecake layer, butterscotch pudding, and finally is whipped cream. It makes a great Thanksgiving dessert for the whole family to share!
Step aside pumpkin pie, there’s a new pumpkin dessert in town! I love making layered desserts and you folks seem to love to see them. People have gone bananas over my chocolate peanut butter layer dessert. The pictures aren’t necessarily even close to being pretty either.
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I absolutely love using JELL-O pudding in recipes. You can use it as a dry mix or in pudding form in SO many dessert recipes. It makes cookies softer while adding a pop of flavor. It’s great in trifles, parfaits, layered desserts, ice box cakes, (poke) cakes, etc. If you can think it, you can make it!
The holidays are my favorite time of the year. I love getting together with my family, bonding with them and sharing a feast! No matter the size of our dinner, we somehow find a way to eat dessert too.
We always have very similar desserts for every holiday. There’s a pumpkin dump cake and/or pumpkin pie, sometimes apple pie, and peanut butter pie. There’s always a tiny blueberry pie for my dad. He’s the only one that eats it and he eats like a bird so a small pie does the trick for him.
My top secret tip is to first check out the desserts and see if anything peaks your interest. If there is and there’s no possible way that you can dig into it just before dinner, go light on the dinner servings. OKAY, that’s not a top secret tip, or a tip at all really. I’m kind of known to just dig into dessert whenever so it’s probably best to just ignore my tips anyhow.
It’s pretty normal for me to be out in the kitchen helping whip together dinner with my mom. We normally do a little chatting and listen to holiday music. There’s a lot of pitchy singing going on too.
After dinner is ready and we begin serving it up, I’ll take it out to the dinner table. My husband will stare me down and I’ll snag a piece of ham from the platter and run like a crazy lady. He’ll be a little tattletale and run after me. By the time he catches me, I’ve always eaten the ham. Let me remind you that we are both 30 and have a 6-year-old son and this has been going on for years. It’s all in good fun and everyone laughs. These will be the things about the holidays that our son will remember and pass down to his kids someday.
How to make pumpkin butterscotch layer dessert
Pumpkin Butterscotch Layer Dessert
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Ingredients
Crust
- 2 1/2 cups vanilla sandwich cookies, crushed
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
Cheesecake
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3.4 ounce instant butterscotch pudding mix
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, divided
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces whipped topping, thawed
Pudding
- 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant butterscotch pudding mix
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
Topping
- 8 ounces whipped topping, thawed
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for dusting
- 14 - 16 candy pumpkins
- 2 tablespoons butterscotch sauce
Instructions
Crust
- In a small bowl, stir together 2 1/2 cups vanilla sandwich cookies and 1/2 cup butter until the crumbs look like wet sand.
- Press the cookie crumbs into a 9x13 baking pan evenly. Don't press it up the sides of the pan. Place in the fridge to firm up.
Cheesecake
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the 8 ounces cream cheese and 3.4 ounce instant butterscotch pudding mix. Beat with a hand mixer on medium until incorporated.
- Add in 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and beat until smooth. Repeat with the remaining 1/2 cup pumpkin puree. Beating the puree in batches prevents the mixture from becoming lumpy. Scrape down the bowl and beat in any remaining cream cheese.
- Add in the 3/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon butter. Beat until thoroughly combined.
- Fold in the thawed 8 ounces whipped topping until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Spread the cheesecake mixture on top of the cookie crust. Be sure it's evenly spread out and hits all edges of the baking pan. Set aside.
Pudding
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant butterscotch pudding mix and 2 1/2 cups whole milk until it becomes thick. It will take about 2 minutes.
- Spread the pudding on top of the cheesecake mixture. Because the cheesecake is soft, add dollops of pudding on top and spread out each dollop until it was evenly spread out and went to the sides of the pan.
Topping
- Spread the remaining thawed 8 ounces whipped topping on top of the pudding by placing dollops of whipped topping on top of the pudding and carefully spreading it out. Be sure to spread it to the edges. Cover and chill for at least two hours. I let mine sit overnight in the fridge.
- Before serving, add the 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon to a small sifter. Sift the cinnamon all over the top. Stagger the candy pumpkins on top. Add the 2 tablespoons butterscotch sauce into a sandwich bag and cut a very small hole into one corner of the bag. Drizzle the sauce in between the pumpkins.
- Cut and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
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