What's cooking? Wednesday - Real Pumpkin Pie Shake

Although this recipe takes a bit of preparation in advance, it's worth it!  It uses real pie crust pieces, which gives it that unique pumpkin pie taste.  And if you make the pie crust ahead of time and freeze it, the actual prep time is very short.

Real Pumpkin Pie Shake!

So...first you have to make a pie crust.  Either buy a package from the refrigerated section of the grocery store or make one from scratch.  For this post, I bought the packaged kind for the first time in my life.  It actually tasted like a real crust!  All I had to do was unroll the dough and put it on a cookie sheet.  It doesn't have to be in a pie tin...flat works great too.  After unrolling it, I sprinkled the surface lightly with sugar.  Then I baked it as directed.  After I took it out of the oven, I let it cool and then broke it into small pieces, put the pieces in a freezer bag and stuck it in the freezer.

Pumpkin Pie Shake

1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. milk
1 c. vanilla ice cream (approx. 2 scoops)
1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
3 T. instant pudding mix (4 T. if you want an extra thick shake)
Handful of pie crust pieces

Blend the first four ingredients together until smooth.  Slowly add the instant pudding mix until the shake is the consistency you want.  Mix in the pie crust pieces.  Don't blend them in the blender!
Pour into two glasses.  Top with whipped cream.  Heavenly!