Individual Pumpkin Pies in Baby Food Jars

I'm currently obsessed with desserts made in baby food jars. I have been collecting my daughter's baby food jars and using them to serve individual desserts at parties. Idea actually came after seeing these cute little mango pannacottas that Sia @ Monsoon Spice served for her son's birthday. I fell in love with her clicks and the idea of reusing baby food jars and started to store them instead of recycling them.

I made individual cheesecake parfaits for my daughter's first birthday. They were instant hit at the party. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures of them. Will definitely plan to make them soon and post it here for my own future reference.

I made these individual pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving party. This is more like a parfait with the flavors of pumpkin pie -- crispy graham cracker layer, sweet pumpkin pudding layer, crunchy candy/ toffee layer, creamy cinnamon-whipped cream layer. 

After making this pumpkin tiramisu which had a homemade cake layer along with the pumpkin pudding layer, I wanted to make something that was quick and easy to make. I also wanted to add different textures to the parfait which is why I added some crunchy, sweet candy bits as a layer.

Pumpkin pudding layer is adapted from Minimalist Baker's mini vegan pumpkin pie shooters recipe. Don't judge me on the way the layers turned out. I wish I could say my 6 year old made them, but since I cannot lie to you -- I made them. Trust me on this, they taste MUCH BETTER than they look. I saw Ina Garten make similar dessert on tv and she used a piping bag with a big tip to make neater layers. I'm going to try this tip out next time I make a parfait.
* Note: The original recipe for the pudding had only 1/3 cup sugar and that was a little on the bland side for us, so I added some maple syrup to make it sweeter.

Ingredients: Makes about 6~8 6oz. baby food jars

Pumpkin puree - 1cup

Cornstarch - 3½tbsp
Sugar - 1/3 cup*
Maple Syrup - 3~4tbsp (optional)*
Pumpkin pie spice - ½tsp (homemade or store bought)
Unsweetened Almond milk or Cow's milk - 1 2/3 cup
Vanilla extract - ½tsp

Other Ingredients:
Graham cracker crumbs - 1cup
Heath toffee bits - 1cup
Heavy whipping cream - 1cup, chilled
Ground Cinnamon - ½tsp
Confectioners sugar - 2~3tbsp
Caramel sauce - as needed (optional)

Method:

• Make the Pumpkin  Pudding: Combine cornstarch, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a medium saucepan. Next add pumpkin puree and whisk until well combined. Slowly add milk and maple syrup (if using) and mix well.
• Place the pan on the stove and heat it on medium flame. Cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until it starts to bubble, don't let the mixture boil. Once it starts to bubble, lower the heat to medium-low and stir continuously until the mixture thickens considerably, about 3~4 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Remove the pudding into a clean bowl and let cool slightly, about 10~15 minutes. Then place a plastic wrap touching the pudding, refrigerate for at least 3~4 hours.
• Make Cinnamon whipped cream: Refrigerate the bowl and the beaters used to make whipped cream in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Whip heavy cream until it starts to thicken a little bit. Add confectioners sugar and ground cinnamon and whip until soft peaks form.
• Assemble: To assemble take 6 to 8 individual jars/ glasses/ containers and add about 1~2tsp graham cracker crumbs. Next divide the pudding mixture evenly on top of the crumbs. Add 1~2tsp of candy bits. Top it with a layer of whipped cream. Repeat the layers, this entirely depends on the size of the serving containers. The order of layers can be changed as per taste. A dollop of whipped cream on the top along with a drizzle of caramel sauce would make it look special.