From the new book, "Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year," by DeeDee Stovel (Storey, paper, $12.95) comes this light and gorgeous alternative to pumpkin pie that also happens to be ridiculously simple to make. Cups formed from fat- and cholesterol-free phyllo dough (available frozen in most large supermarkets) provide the crunch to counter the creaminess of a quick uncooked pumpkin mousse. (These cups, baked in muffin tins, will become a part of your regular dessert repertoire once you try them; fill them with cream pie fillings, chocolate or other mousse, no-bake cheesecake batter.)

The testing team moaned with pleasure when we bit into these — surprised and delighted with the way the lemon and ginger contrast with the mildness of the pumpkin and cream.

Yet another great thing about this recipe is how quickly it goes together: Within a half hour, we had formed and baked the cups and made the mousse. And you can prepare the parts well ahead of time; hold the cups at room temperature and the mousse in the refrigerator, then put the dessert together just before serving. (If the cups sit for more than 10 to 15 minutes, they begin to weep and the phyllo gets soggy.)

Tips: Be sure to finely mince the crystallized ginger; a mini-food processor would do a good job. Crystallized ginger is available in the spice section of most large supermarkets, sometimes in the health food section, and in Chinatown. Almond-flavored amaretti cookies can be found at R. Field; you can substitute any crisp cookie, such as sugar cookies or gingersnaps.

To lighten the mousse even further, use nonfat whipping cream (we've found it at Safeway stores).

If you plan to make the mousse in advance, use the recipe below for stable whipped cream from Linda West Eckhardt's "Cakes from Scratch in Half the Time" — another boon to the home dessert maker, as it can be held for up to five days, covered, in the refrigerator.

PUMPKIN MOUSSE

3 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

Butter-flavored cooking spray

1 cup pumpkin puree

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup (pure is best, but you can use maple-flavored syrup)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely minced crystallized ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks or stable whipped cream*

4 amaretti cookies, crushed

Mint leaves for garnish, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Stack the three sheets of phyllo dough on top of each other and cut into eight 4-inch squares.

Spray muffin tin with butter-flavored cooking spray. Tuck each stack of squares into a muffin cup. Spray inside of squares lightly with butter-colored cooking spray. Bake for 6-7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

To make the mousse, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, maple syrup, lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon and allspice in a medium bowl. Fold in the whipped heavy cream. (If you want to hold the mousse for more than an hour or so, combine and refrigerate the pumpkin mixture, but hold off on whipping the cream until closer to serving time.)

Spoon mousse into phyllo cups just before serving.

Sprinkle each with a little bit of crushed amaretti cookies and serve with a tiny mint leaf tucked into each cup.

Makes 8 servings.