Extra Creamy Pumpkin Pie

This makes a remarkably smooth pumpkin pie. The numbers in parentheses throughout the directions are references to the ideal kitchenaid stand mixer setting for that step. Organic ingredients tend to carry more flavor and avoid “ultra pasteurized” heavy cream if possible (it has less flavor than regular pasteurization)

Ingredients:

– Pie filling

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 C. (16 oz) mashed canned pumpkin
• 1 C. sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 whole egg plus 2 yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 C. heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 C. butter, melted (4 Tbsp.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

– Crust

• 4 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 package Biscoff or Speculoous cookies, crushed (8.8oz)

Directions – Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Make sure the cream cheese and eggs are out of the fridge at this point so they come up to room temp. You can use the preheating oven as a hands-off way to melt your butter.
2. Pulse cookies in a food processor until you get a fine texture. Break any large pieces up and pulse again if they aren’t breaking down on their own
3. With the food processor running, drizzle the melted butter in with the cookies and process until combined.
4. Transfer cookie crumbs to a pie tin and firmly pack into the bottom and sides of the pan. You’ll likely have about 1/2C. extra crust. Set this aside to make a mini-pie later (if desired)
5. Bake at 350F for 10-minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack

Directions – Filling

1. While the crust is baking, make your filling. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat your cream cheese on medium/low(3) until light and fluffy.
2. Add the pumpkin and mix on medium/low until smooth and combined (should be pretty quick)
3. Add the sugar and salt and beat on low (2) until the sugar no longer looks grainy (it’s pretty quick)
4. Add the liquids (eggs, heavy cream, butter, vanilla) and mix on stir/low. Stir in the cinnamon and ginger. Do a quick stir by hand to make sure everything is evenly combined.
5. Fill pie crust and bake @350F for 35-minutes or until the pie reaches an internal temp of at least 175F (I saw 200F @35-minutes). It can take up to 55-min. Just keep checking the temp (it will be VERY wobbly when it is done. That’s the correct texture). Allow your pie to cool on a wire rack until room temperature. For more solid slices that hold together, transfer the pie to the fridge to cool further. 

Serve with fresh whipped cream on top.

Note: You will likely have extra pie filling. You can use 2 1-C. Ramekins, lined with the excess crust, and fill them to the first internal rim with the excess filling. I still need to workshop the correct timing and temp for these smaller pies to avoid a grainy filling. They are likely done closer to 20-minutes in the oven, but again do with the internal temp of the pie to be sure