Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie

This is the second in my Pumpkin Pie Series. My family has probably liked this version the best of my recent attempts. I also liked it, although it was very rich. It would be well served for a special occasion and not so much for a dinner/breakfast substitute as many of my pumpkin pies turn out to be.

The recipe I used is one that came with my cute new "Petite Pie Mold" from Tovolo.com. (see future Pumpkin Hand Pie Post) Their recipes are available online but I will include the pumpkin pie version here.

BTW: Paula Deen has another Pumpkin Pie recipe that uses cream cheese. I'll let you know. . .

Pumpkin Pie

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg pluss 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

unbaked 9" crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, 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 beat until incorporated. Poor into crust and bake 35 minutes or until filling is set.

Costco Pumpkin Pie

This is the famous $5.99 Costco pumpkin pie. It is truly a great value! A 10" pie is the perfect size to feed the family for dinner dessert and breakfast too. I do love the pumpkin filling. As I have stated before, I have felt challenged by the filling since many recipes just don't measure up. The crust, however, is far inferior. It is a very whimpy crust and it comes soggy and doughy on the bottom more times than not.

I have bought many pumpkin pies from Costco. In fact, once they start selling them in the fall, I never leave the store without one! But I am happy to report that my Pumpkin Pie Series effort has waxed successful and I no longer consider Costco the "best" pumpkin pie. Stay tuned for some great pumpkin pie recipes. It's a virtual PARADE!

Praline Pumpkin Pie

The first of my pumpkin pie series will be the delicious Praline Pumpkin Pie. It has a thin layer of pecan praline on the bottom that gives the pie a nice surprise. Pumpkin and praline go so well together, this is a natural twist on the old tradition. Or you could say you are putting two Thanksgiving favorites into one wonderful pie. I definitely recommend this recipe from my book Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Recipes by Bear Wallow Books. (see links in previous post)

Praline Pumpkin Pie

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons soft butter

Combine these ingredients and press into bottom of 9" unbaked pie shell. Prick sides with fork. Bake in 450 degree oven 10 minutes and cool.

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

2 cups cooked pumpkin

1 14oz can condensed milk

Mix together eggs, sugars, flour, salt and spices. Blend in pumpkin. Gradually add mil. Mix well. Pour into baked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted in filling comes out clean.

Village Inn Strawberry Rhubarb

Hoorah to Village Inn for using a shortening crust with a beautiful flute and a sturdy pan. These little touches make such a big difference. It's hard to make a strawberry rhubarb pie when you can't find rhubarb at the local market so I was thrilled that Village Inn would fill the need. I can't wait to try more flavors of pie there.

Loyal Blog Followers

Sweet and caring Jeri visits my blog often. So when her generous and helpful husband was heading in for surgery, I thought it important that they have one of my comforting apple pies. Thanks for your loyalty Jeri and thanks for being a great "hometeacher" B Calder. Best wishes for a quick recovery.

Pumpkin Pie Quest

For the past several years, I have considered myself a failure at making a good pumpkin pie. The 'ol Libby's recipe just didn't cut it! Frozen pumpkin pies were better. Costco pumpkin pie was better. It was very discouraging!

A few summers ago I was in Pennsylvania for a neice's wedding with all of my sisters and my mom. We took the opportunity to travel through the Amish and Mennonite areas and stopped at lots of the fun grocery stores and bakeries. I found this awesome little cookbook at one of the stores and decided to try every pumpkin pie recipe listed to discover a winning recipe.

Over the next several posts, I will be sharing the results. So check back often for my Pumpkin Pie Series and together we'll take Costco to task. BTW this is a wonderful book with breads, soups, sweets, and of course lots of pumpkin pies. Bear Wallow Books in Indiana is a great source of cookbooks for the "Old Fashioned" baker in all of us. You can buy one or all of their 40 books from Abel's Apple Acres or from Kauffman's Fruit Farm.

Spreading the Pie

You never know where you are going to find a good recipe for pie. I enjoy this blog about cupcakes. In fact, it was my inspiration for starting a pie blog. The bottom line is, baking is a passion shared by many of us, whatever our final product. So if you love baking more than just pies, check out the Cupcake Activist! You might just find a recipe for pie and cupcakes too.