Phyllis' Pumpkin Trifle

This has been a pretty dry spell for recipes of late. Too much time on Pinterest I think, and not enough time in the kitchen. There have not been too many dazzling meals coming out of this kitchen lately, meals yes, dazzling, not so much. The consensus on this dessert was that it was worthy of a post. Riley especially loved it and rewarded me for making it with a giant hug! What more can you ask for! So if you need to bring a dessert to one of your holiday parties, consider this one. Just be advised that it is VERY rich so small servings are suggested, but who am I to judge if you decide to have a great big helping!?

Who is Phyllis you might ask? I have no idea but that is the title of this recipe in one of my many "vintage" (old) magazines which I was reading through the other night while enduring one of the many sporting events I am exposed to on a regular basis of which I have absolutely no interest! This is from a"Christmas Made Easy" which I probably picked up at Sam's Club or some such place. I will try some other recipes and suggestions from the magazine and let you know if my Christmas really was "made easy" this year!

Ingredients
Crumb Crust:
1 cup oatmeal (not instant)
1 cup graham-cracker crumbs
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (29-ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 (3.4-ounce) packages french vanilla instant pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 (8-ounce) Cool Whip (I used 1 pint cream whipped)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
CRUST: In a large bowl stir together the dry ingredients . Add melted butter and stir to combine. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, stirring once, or until pecans are toasted and crumbs are nicely browned. Set aside to cool.
FILLING: In another bowl beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add pumpkin and condensed milk and beat until well combined. Stir in pudding mix, milk and cinnamon and beat until mixture is smooth.
ASSEMBLY: In a large Trifle dish or individual cups begin with a layer of crumbs, add a layer of pumpkin mixture, top with whipped cream or cool whip, repeat two more times ending with a sprinkle of crust topping or toasted pecans.
We assembled the trifles in a clear glass and served immediately. The recipe states that they can be assembled ahead of time, which makes sense but I was afraid the crumb mixture would get soft and I wanted it to be crunchy, so you can decide for yourself.

P.S. for the nuts in the family that don't like nuts, you can obviously just omit them altogether or you could just use some delicious ginger snaps to make the crust and I'm sure the nut haters would enjoy this immensely!)