Escapism. Everyone needs it now and then. A time and place to let go of what’s on your mind and just be in the moment. For a lot of people, it’s running…that feeling of being “in the zone”, for others it’s a hot bath and wine.  For me it’s baking. And when Friday rolled around, I knew I needed to get cooking so I broke out a can of  pumpkin puree and began my escape.

With a little whipping cream and some cinnamon and nutmeg, the pumpkin mousse was creamy, spicy and perfectly dreamy in no time. And what better way to compliment this mousse than with some crumbles of crushed ginger snaps mixed with butter and BOURBON? These parfaits were special, absolutely fall-like and something that could definitely help you escape the drudgery of the day and take you on a little heavenly journey.

If you need some other pumpkin inspiration then you have come to the right place! I am a crazy pumpkin addict at this time of year. Try any one of these… Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Spiced Buttercream, Pumpkin Citrus Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Pancakes, Pumpkin Apple Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bread Pudding, or Maple Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Pumpkin Mousse and Ginger Snap Parfaits

This recipe is from Dave Lieberman on www.foodnetwork.com
Makes enough mousse for 10-12 parfaits.
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or for a spicier version…I used 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. ground cloves and 1/4 t. ground nutmeg (it was heaven!)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Items needed for the parfaits:
3 c. pulverized or crushed ginger snaps
4 T. melted butter
1 T. bourbon

Whipped cream for topping!

To make the mousse: 

Combine pumpkin, 1 cup cream, sugar and spice in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cool fully. Let sit in sieve over a bowl while you whip the cream. When ready to mix into the whipped cream, push the pumpkin mixture through the sieve, try to extract most of the pumpkin mixture. This will allow your mousse to be smooth (I did not do this step and mine was a touch grainy…I wished the food network recipe had suggested this ).

Whip remaining heavy cream and vanilla to soft peaks (don’t over whip or it will separate later), and fold into cooled pumpkin mixture, gently.

Put the ginger snaps into a food processor and pulverize until fine and crumbly or just crush with a meat mallet with cookies in a ziploc bag, wrapped in a kitchen towel. Mix cookie crumbs with the butter and bourbon.

Using a small spoon, dollop a spoonful of the crumb mixture into the bottom of your parfait glasses. With a very small ice cream scoop if you have one, scoop the pumpkin mousse on top of the cookie crumbles. Repeat with more cookie crumbles and pumpkin mousse. Top with either ready-made whipped cream or fresh whipped cream. Sprinkle with a few crumbles on top.

Eat within 1-2 days of making. The mousse tends to separate after 2 days.

Enjoy!