Your Cardiologist Hates This Pumpkin Pie (But You'll Love It)

Some of the bloggers I know are very organized about blogging. They have editorial calendars where they actually think through what they'll be posting and write about particular things when they'll be most relevant. Me, I blog by the seat of my pants. I pretty much write whenever I feel like it and have time (which, unfortunately, is not nearly often enough) - and when I write, it's often about things that have just happened, which means the topics are not always appropriately timed.

This is an example of one such post. Thanksgiving has just passed, we're officially into the Christmas season, and it's a little late to be writing about pumpkin pie. But I just made this one for the third year in a row, which means it's worthy of a blog post. And I have time and energy now, so that's when you're getting it. :)  

This pumpkin pie is not too sweet, a little less pumpkin forward than most, and maybe even toying with the idea of tasting like a buttery pumpkin cheesecake. I'm usually sort of ambivalent about pumpkin pie, but I can't get enough of this one.

Your Cardiologist Hates This Pumpkin Pie (based on a Paula Deen recipe)

Ingredients:

1    8-oz package of cream cheese, softened

2    c canned pumpkin

1    c sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1    egg + 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1/2 c half and half

1/4 c (1/2 stick) melted butter

1    tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1   piece pre-made pie crust (or two if you'd like to add cut-outs to the top) - I love Pillsbury's refrigerated dough, which comes 2/box

Whipped cream, for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put one piece of pre-made dough into a 9", deep dish pie pan and gently press it to the bottom and sides. Crimp the edges of the crust. Poke holes all over the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. Cover the inside and the edges of the crust with aluminum foil and cover the bottom with pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the pie weights and the foil from the bottom (but not the edges!), and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust dries out and is beginning to color.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the following ingredients in the order listed and beat until combined after each ingredient:

• pumpkin

• sugar & salt

• eggs

• half and half

• melted butter

• vanilla

• cinnamon

• ginger

Pour the filling into the pie crust, Re-cover the edges of the crust with foil and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set (a toothpick will come out clean). If you want to add cut-outs to the top, I usually add them about 25 minutes in - if you do this, you will probably need to bake 5-10 minutes longer since the pie will cool slightly while you're adding the cutouts. Serve with freshly whipped cream.

P.S. If you do cutouts on the top using the second crust, you'll have a lot of crust left over for these Blue Cheese Pie Crust Crackers!