My Thoughts: If I’m only able to try one pumpkin cheesecake this season, then it’s just gotta be Sara Lee – nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee…
Ingredients for Success: 1 part awesome cheesecake, 1 part awesome pumpkin pie, 1cup of Sara Lee’s enthusiasm for making superior baked goods
Flavor: The only way this could’ve possibly been any better would be if I had thought to drizzle a little of that Smucker’s Pumpkin Spice Topping over top … and I might just do that with my next piece tomorrow!  Simply put, this cheesecake is a pumpkin dessert at its finest – a nice and heavy, but still smooth (not dry), and every single bite was infused with a wonderful pumpkin spice flavor.  Heavenly…
Value: Sara Lee also gets a bonus star for not only producing a delicious pumpkin cheesecake, but also an affordable cheesecake.  I picked up this baby at Wal-Mart for a mere $5.99, which compared to the whopping $17.99 that Target wanted for a Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake that I saw the other day, is quite the sweet bargain!

Foreward: After the last less than favorable post regarding pumpkin pie, I felt it was necessary to end Thanksgiving on more of a high note…
First Impression: Jackpot!
Flavor Scale: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being awesome, this tasty treat definitely scores an 11!  I originally snagged this jar in the ice cream section as a new way to spice up a sundae, but tonight we proved that ice cream is only the beginning of this topping’s arsenal.  Boasting the consistency of caramel, but with a very distinct and sweet pumpkin flavor, this is by far the single best pumpkin flavor additive that I’ve discovered this season, hands down!  A rich aroma makes clear that you’ve got a great topping from the moment you’ve removed the lid, and once it’s been drizzled across the dessert of your choice – look out!  I first tried it on a piece of New York-style cheesecake from The HoneyBaked Ham Company with amazing results, and I’m sure by the end of the weekend I’ll have tested it on actual ice cream as well.
Buy Factor: This stuff is so good I’m definitely picking up a second jar to stash away for a rainy day – the expiration on my current jar isn’t until 2010, so there’s definitely no worry of spoilage.  The only challenge you may face is in actually finding the stuff – I found my at Target, but I’ve yet to see it at any other grocery store, so keep your eyes peeled and it nothing else, this is one pumpkin flavor that’s definitely worth a road trip!

Origin: Village Inn boasts that their pies are the best in America, so it seemed only fitting to put that claim to the test on this most thankful of days.
Flavor: Ummm … so-so at best? It was definitely a pumpkin pie by definition, but not really anything spectacular and certainly not the best … at least not by this pumpkin aficionado’s standards. The crust was very dry and flaky and didn’t retain any of the pumpkin flavor at all, and even the filling itself seemed too thick / not moist enough for my tastes.
Caveat: It seemed somewhat obligatory that I feature a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, of all days, but was just too lazy to actually make one myself…which is clearly what I should’ve done in the first place. I hereby promise to do this one right sometime before the end of the year and whip up a real pumpkin pie in my own kitchen, complete with the graham cracker crust that beats the pants off of that crusty, dry stuff…

Another Pie Side Note: While not specifically pumpkin-related, we also sampled a second pie from Village Inn as well – their French Silk Pie which is basically a “highly regarded” chocolate cream topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings – and not for nothing, but it wasn’t really anything fantastic, either. I mean, it was pretty to look at, but in terms of the best pie in America? Didn’t even come close. Just food for thought…

In a Word: Yummy.
In Several More Words: Wow – what a find!  I honestly didn’t really expect to find too many more pumpkin treats this time of year as we make our way into Christmastime, but low and behold as I wandered throughout Super Target earlier this evening in search of the ingredients for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast, who knew I would stumble upon such greatness?!  Once again, the Target Bakery delivers awesomeness in the form of dessert!
Flavor: Almost as good as the pumpkin cookies that my own Mom makes, with a delicious combination of chocolate and pumpkin these little puppies are nearly just as good.  And although I could clearly see the chunks of white chocolate in the cookies, it honestly didn’t taste as much specifically like white chocolate as merely chocolate in general, which seems to result in a great combination.  My only disappointment was that there were only six cookies in the package, and those certainly didn’t last long around our house…
Recommendation: There was only a single package of these left on the shelf and I nearly passed them by because I was in such a hurry to finish shopping and get home, but if you happen to see them in your local Target bakery in the next couple of weeks, I highly recommend spending the $3.49 for this little piece of heaven!

Level of Surprise & Excitement: high!!!
Explanation: I know that I’ve been slacking a little with regards to pumpkin ice creams this year, but in my defense I only saw Edy’s Pumpkin Ice Cream in the store a handful of times and by the time I had the room in our freezer to warrant picking up a carton, they’d already been shifted aside in favor of the Peppermint and Eggnog flavors for Christmas. If anybody, I had always expected the great Ben & Jerry to be the ones to put out an awesome pumpkin-flavored ice cream, but never did I find such a flavor … until this limited edition kind of day.
Flavor in Comparison: Last year I reveled in the flavors of Edy’s and Cold Stone, but in comparison neither hold a candle to Ben & Jerry’s – simply put, this was an awesome carton of ice cream! It tackled the delectable combination of pumpkin and cheesecake previously sampled a la muffin, but did it better. Smooth, creamy, and full of a rich pumpkin flavor in every spoonful.
Ranking with Regards to Other Ben & Jerry’s Flavors: Fairly high, at least in my opinion. My favorites have always been Peanut Butter Cup, Karamel Sutra, and of course, the always patriotic Stephen Colbert’s AmeriCone Dream, but as seasonal substitute, Pumpkin Cheesecake is a nice addition to the catalog and I would certainly welcome its presence in freezer sections on a more regular basis!

Ingredients: mini-graham cracker crusts, pumpkin pudding, some sort of brown sugar-based, crumbly topping, lots of love!
Results: simple, but delicious pumpkin dessert that made this particular pumpkin fanatic elated
Flavor: In a word – awesome. I had originally intended these shells to go with a Pumpkin Mousse recipe that I’d found on the outside of the pudding box, but this ended up working just as well. The graham cracker crust really lends itself to the pumpkin flavor, just as it would with your traditional pumpkin pie, while the sweet, crumbly topping … well, I’ve just always been a sucker for them because they remind me of the coffee cakes my Dad used to make for the family on Sunday mornings. Wife definitely gets an A+ for this one.

Footnote to Self: I really owe my wife something more than a store-bought dessert the next time it’s my turn to cook dinner!

Surprise to Find a New Brand of Pumpkin-Based Pudding Stuffs Right Out of the Blue: very!
Texture & Consistency: definitely leans towards the pie filling portion of the label, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing
Flavor: By far the closest thing to eating actual pumpkin pie in non pie form that I’ve eaten all season, Kozy Shack’s limited edition treasure was definitely a diamond in the rough!  This stuff was very rich and creamy and flavorful, almost what I would expect eating a homemade pumpkin pie filling would taste like.  That said, it’s almost too thick to serve as actual pudding, per se – that’s how I sampled it and it was pretty tasty, but my curious side does have to wonder how it would fare if baked into a pie for 40 minutes, as instructed on the outside of the tub.
Final Verdict: If you’re tired of choking down pumpkin-based wanna-bes for the last month and a half, and if you can find it (I found mine at Wal-Mart, but this is the first time I’d noticed it…), then you’re in for a real treat – prepare to get Kozy!

Found At: your local grocer’s baking section (Sweetbay Supermarkets here in Florida)
Ease of Use: Two cups of 2% milk and less than five minutes later, I had fresh pumpkin pudding firming up in the fridge … and technically according to the instructions said refrigeration wasn’t even necessary, but since I was a little kid that’s just always how I’ve made pudding and why mess with a good system now?!
Presentation: Definitely a nice and creamy appearance, especially when compared to that humdrum yogurt from a few days ago, but I still thought that adding a bit of whipped cream, nutmeg, and even a Newman’s ginger cookie to garnish made it even better!
Flavor: Not perfect, but most certainly decent when compared to other wanna-be pumpkin flavorings. Has a nice sweet flavor without being overbearing, and the spice level seems to be just about right … at least as far as a pudding would be concerned.
Final Verdict: In addition to the standard pudding recipe, the box also featured a recipe for a Pumpkin Mousse that also sounded interesting, so with any luck I hope to be able to hunt down another box of pudding mix before these disappear from the shelves and give that a try as well! I definitely recommend the pudding as a means of adding a pumpkin dessert to one’s meal without bringing home an entire pie – stay tuned to find out if the pumpkin mousse is just as commendable!

Origin: local neighborhood Dairy Queen (not my local neighborhood, mind you, but I’m sure it was somebody’s neighborhood…)
Flavor: pumpkin-flavored, with what appeared to be bits of graham cracker crust
Appearance: clearly didn’t look exactly like the promotional photo, but still looked good
Taste: left something to be desired … had definite pumpkin-flavoring, but couldn’t possibly hold a candle to something along the lines of Cold Stone’s pumpkin ice cream which is actually pumpkin ice cream instead of just vanilla with pumpkin-flavoring added in later
Footnote: This treat probably would’ve been better received had I not stood there and watched the lady make it – there was just something about seeing the spoonfuls of “pumpkin-flavoring” gunk that she put in the cup before mixing it up that really ruined the magic for me. Before ordering, I joked about how they probably just throw a piece of pumpkin pie in the blender and add some ice cream, and sadly that wasn’t too far from the truth! Some things are better left behind the curtain…