Photo of Gingery winter squash custards with gingersnap crumble by WW

Gingery winter squash custards with gingersnap crumble

7
Points®
Total Time
5 hr 20 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
40 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Moderate
Looking for a way to sneak one more vegetable into your day? Do it with dessert. These custards boast a crumbly gingersnap crust filled with a mixture of butternut squash, cinnamon, ginger, cream cheese and brown sugar. The texture of these custards is absolute perfection and the taste will remind you of pumpkin pie. To make 3/4 cup of mashed winter squash, simmer 1 1/3 cups cubed peeled squash in water until very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash.

Ingredients

Cooking spray

6 spray(s)

Gingersnap cookie

4 cookie(s), crumbled

Unsalted butter

1½ tsp, melted

Table salt

tsp

Reduced fat cream cheese (neufchâtel)

6 oz, softened

Packed brown sugar

3 Tbsp, dark variety

Egg

1 large egg(s)

Mashed butternut squash

¾ cup(s)

Ground cinnamon

1 tsp

Ground ginger

¼ tsp

Fat free whipped topping

6 Tbsp, thawed if frozen

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 6 (4-ounce) ramekins with nonstick spray.
  2. Place cookies in zip-close plastic bag and use rolling pin or bottom of small saucepan to crush into coarse crumbs. Transfer to small bowl. Add butter and salt and stir to combine. Place crumbs on small baking sheet and bake, stirring once, until fragrant and lightly browned, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to plate to cool. Maintain oven temperature.
  3. With hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat until well combined. Beat in squash, cinnamon, and ginger until smooth. Spoon evenly into prepared ramekins. Place ramekins in 9 x 13-inch baking pan and pour in enough hot water to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until set, about 30 minutes.
  4. Carefully remove ramekins from baking pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. Top each custard with 1 tablespoon of whipped topping and sprinkle evenly with gingersnap crumbs just before serving.
  5. Serving size: 1 custard