Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

This year I let Madeleine decide what dessert we made for Thanksgiving.  Since it was just the 4 of us for dinner, I figured I'd just make one and we'd have leftovers through the weekend.  Not so much.

Madeleine wanted to make a pumpkin pie 'like the Pilgrims did mommy'.  I had my doubts that she'd like the taste of pumpkin, and I don't particularly care for plain ole pumpkin pie, so I wanted to make something that I hoped wasn't going to go straight into the trash.

The King Arthur Flour website is a website I frequent mostly around the holidays.   Great for ideas for new cookies, bread and candy to try out for the baskets I make up at Christmas.  They have lots of delicious looking recipes that I wish i had the time to make.  I would love to be able to bake all our bread, but that requires organization.  Sigh, one day.

This was pretty quick and easy to put together when you don't make your own pie crust.  I substituted pumpkin pie spice for the laundry list of spices they used.  Even though the HyVee pie crust declared it was a deep dish pie, it wasn't, and I had some leftover pumpkin filling that I cooked in a little ramekin.  Both kids enjoyed it.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Deep dish pie crust (I am incapable of making pie crust so I use frozen)

Cheesecake Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup (2 ounces) sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup (1 5/8 ounces) diced candied ginger

Pumpkin Filling
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1 cup (8 ounces) evaporated milk
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Cheesecake Filling: Remove the cream cheese from its wrapper, and place it in a mixing bowl. Allow it to warm to room temperature (this will make it easier to beat), then add the sugar and beat till fairly smooth.  Stir in the egg, vanilla and ginger, and spoon the filling into the pie crust.

Pumpkin Filling: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt and spices. Add the pumpkin, cream or evaporated milk, and eggs, and whisk gently until smooth. Gently spoon the pumpkin filling atop the cheesecake layer, filling within 1/4-inch of the top of the crust. Note: Do this carefully at first, so as not to disturb the cheesecake layer; once you've covered the cheesecake, you can be less careful. Depending on the exact depth of your pie pan, you may have leftover filling. Simply pour it into a custard cup or other small baker, and bake it along with the pie, removing it from the oven when it appears set, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Place the pie in a preheated 425°F oven, and bake it for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and continue to bake for 40 to 45 minutes, covering the edges of the pie with a crust shield or aluminum foil if they seem to be browning too quickly. The pie is done when it looks set, but still wobbles a bit in the center when you jiggle it.  Remove the pie from the oven, allow it to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it till serving time. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream flavored with a pinch of ginger and teaspoon of vanilla.

Yield: 10 rich servings