Recipe: Easy Pumpkin Dessert

The holiday season is here—and maybe you're looking for a quick, simple dessert to add to your Thanksgiving table. This one's the one for you!

Recently, I was asked to bring a pumpkin dessert to a dinner, and I quickly texted my mom to ask if she had any good ones. She sent me a photo of a handwritten recipe from my aunt that I've since brought to not one, but TWO, dinners—with rave reviews. It's basically a dump cake, but the spiced pumpkin and toasted pecans add a nice fall flavor you're sure to enjoy with coffee on Thanksgiving afternoon—or for breakfast the next day. . .

Ingredients

Pumpkin Layer:

• 4 eggs

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 can Milnot (my guess is you could substitute evaporated milk, but I tried bought the brand to follow the recipe)

• 2 cups pumpkin puree

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (my aunt's recipe doesn't call for this, but I LOVE cinnamon)

Topping:

• 1 cup pecans, chopped

• 1 box yellow cake mix

• 2 sticks of butter, melted

1. Mix together all the ingredients for the pumpkin layer and pour into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Over the pumpkin layer, sprinkle the dry cake mix.

3. Top with chopped pecans. If you'd like to amp up the fall flavor, try toasted the pecans in the oven, then sprinkling them on the dessert.

4. Pour melted butter over the topping. You may want to use a knife to mix the butter and topping a bit to avoid dry patches of cake mix.

5. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream.