Pumpkin Pie
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009I have decided Adam is a pumpkin pie addict, this is the third pumpkin pie I have made him, that is not counting the pieces he has eaten else where. Guess what he had Black Friday for breakfast… yep pumpkin pie… Crazy man I tell ya.
I had a package of pie crust sitting in the fridge because I had bought it to make it for our early Thanksgiving dinner, but instead our daughter arrived, I think that’s better then ANY Thanksgiving dinner!! Since this is his first week back to work after she was born and he had a 13 hour day on Monday I decided I would surprise him with pie tonight.
Both Adam and My mom enjoyed this pie, they said it tasted different then normal pumpkin pie but was delicious.
Pumpkin Pie (From: Paula Deen)

- 1 (8-ounce) package cream
cheese
, softened - 2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
- 1 cup sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
extract - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
- 1 piece pre-made pie dough

- Whipped cream, for topping

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.
For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.
Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.






