Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie (recipe)
When the temperature dips below 60 and the leaves start changing colors, my husband Ed declares it Pumpkin Pie Season. The thought of only eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving would not fly at our house. All of October-February is open pie season.
I have made my fair share of pumpkin pies. I’m happy it’s high on his list of favorites because it is so simple to make (Don’t tell Ed; homemade pie is a very powerful bargaining chip).
You don’t have to make a double crust or deal with any peeling or chopping. The single pie crust can certainly be homemade (How to Make Pie Crust from Scratch), but I have become totally spoiled with Trader Joe’s frozen pie crusts. For $2, you have a great single crust with almost no work. I actually think they are better than the ones I used to make from scratch, so this time saver has been an easy swap for me.
You could also use a single chocolate or graham cracker crust if you wanted to get really crazy. The pumpkin filling ingredients come together in one bowl. In this case, a food processor does all the mixing, making an easy recipe even easier.
When I saw a recipe for Ultra-Creamy Pumpkin Pie in the Oregonian’s Foodday, I knew it would be a winner. A cross between pumpkin pie & cheesecake has got to be good. The sweetness is split between brown sugar and maple syrup, and the perfectly silky smooth filling comes compliments of the eggs, cream cheese, and heavy cream.
I almost never have the evaporated milk called for in most traditional pumpkin pie recipes on hand, but these ingredients are like survivalist staples at our house. In case of natural disaster, we will have no bottled water and be unable to locate a single working flashlight, but count on us to have a year’s supply of butter and cheese.
Thanksgiving (and the rest of winter) is around the corner. If you are in charge of making the pumpkin pie, try this one. I have already made it twice. The second time I declared an early lunch and ate a thick slice of pie with a hot cup of coffee. My daughter, our in-house food critic, piped up from her seat next to me, “This is the best pumpkin pie in the whole world!”.
She is her daddy’s girl, and she is right.
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie
Original recipe from the Oregonian Foodday
Ingredients
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. grated nutmeg
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. heavy cream
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
15-oz. can pumpkin puree (about 1 3/4 cup Homemade Pumpkin Puree)
1 prepared single crust
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a food processor, combine the flour, spices, salt and brown sugar. Pulse until well mixed.
- Add the maple syrup, cream, cream cheese, eggs, and pumpkin puree, then process, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until completely smooth.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared crust in your pie plate, smoothing the top.
- Place the pie in the oven. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the center of the pie jiggles only slightly (It will set completely when cool. Test with a knife in the center.). Cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
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The Alteco 20-inch French Rolling Pin (Amazon) is one of my favorite kitchen tools. I use it for homemade pie crust or cookie dough. I even use it for those Trader Joe’s crusts, which tend to split when unrolled. A few passes with this, and we are back in business. This rolling pin is simple, beautiful, and inexpensive!
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