The Perfect Fall Pudding, Starring Ginger Snaps and Pumpkin Spice

What started as a shared laugh over the country’s pumpkin spice infatuation has transformed into the newest dessert at a North Georgia barbecue joint. For a limited time, Blue Hound Barbecue in Dillard is serving up an autumnal twist on banana pudding featuring pumpkin spice and, in lieu of the traditional vanilla wafer, ginger snaps.

Just a mile and a half south of the North Carolina state line, owner Kyle Bryner and his wife, Erin, pay homage to the culinary traditions of the Southern Appalachian region and of their own childhoods. “What I observed about the cooks I admired in the South was that their creations were often inspired by fond food memories [and] a pursuit to relive those moments through their dishes,” Bryner says.

If your own fond fall memories include pumpkin spice, try this recipe at home.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Spiced Pudding (Yield: 10-12 servings)

5 cups whole milk
1½ cups sugar
½ cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
15 oz. can pumpkin
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1½ boxes or bags ginger snaps
Whipped cream topping
Extra ginger snaps for garnish

Preparation

Make the pudding base: In a double-boiler pot (or in a bowl over a pot of boiling water), combine milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir while heating over the boiling water until mixture begins to thicken.

In a separate bowl, have the egg yolks ready. Slowly add a ladle full of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks and thoroughly combine until incorporated before adding another ladle full. Repeat until all of the milk mixture is added to the egg yolks.

Return mixture to the double boiler, and cook until thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in melted butter, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and vanilla paste. Pour mixture into a pan and put in the refrigerator until completely cool.

Assemble the pudding: Add the bag and a half of ginger snaps to the pudding base mixture and mix together.

Return to the fridge and let rest for an hour or longer. (We know this looks like a lot of cookies, but once the pudding rests with the ginger snaps, it’ll soften them and soak into the pudding.)

After the pudding has rested, cover with whipped topping. We like to decorate the top with more ginger snaps, either crushed and sprinkled or placed whole in the whipped cream.