Recipe Box: Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

While friends migrated to the beach to enjoy the last of the summer weather this weekend, I was pottering around my kitchen in a dreamy haze. I could think of nothing but chunky casseroles, tummy-warming soups and crunchy Autumn leaves underfoot. It's no secret that Fall is my favorite season. Every year, I whip up something deliciously autumnal on the first weekend of September, just to remind myself that the season is definitely changing, no matter how hot and sticky it is outside.

This recipe is so easy to make (especially if you use store bought pumpkin pie) and is universally popular. As an added bonus, your kitchen will smell sumptuous and spicy for the rest of the day too. Yum!

You will need:

- 1 eight ounce package of cream cheese (softened)

- 2 cups of canned pumpkin

- Half cup of white sugar

- Half cup of brown sugar
- Quarter teaspoon of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of half and half
- Quarter cup of melted butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Half teaspoon ground cinnamon
- One piece pre-made pie case
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. While that's warming up, give the cream cheese a good beating with a hand mixer. Add the canned pumpkin and beat until combined. Next, add the sugar, salt, eggs, half and half and the melted butter before mixing it together. Finally, pour in the vanilla and cinnamon ... yet more beating should ensue. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for around 50 minutes. 

Leave the pie to cool for a few hours. Yes, I'm aware that I've just asked you to bake your first pumpkin pie of the season only to leave it for a few hours. Be strong my friends, the result will be worth the wait. 

Activities to consider to keep you from a mad fit of pie eating:

- Pack a good book and take yourself out for a coffee (may I suggest Sophie's French Cafe and Bakery?)

- Re-pot sorry looking house plants in some old china cups and dot them around the house

- Call your best friend and lament over how hard NOT eating freshly baked pie can be

- Lock yourself in the bathroom

Phew, congratulations, you made it. Now we can have some fun. For each milkshake, you should add one slice of pumpkin pie, two cups of vanilla ice cream and one cup of milk to the blender. Tada! Isn't the result heavenly? Aren't you glad you waited? 

I'd absolutely love to hear what recipes you're most looking forward to this Fall in the comments!