Sky in the Pie

Today's post brought to you by the color orange...

I am terribly delinquent in posting this Thanksgiving pie, but hopefully you won't hold it against me or this delicious pie!

I love this pie.  It gets it name because under the pumpkin is a luscious cream cheese mixture, so it looks like the sky is in the pie. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of a slice so you could see the layers, so you will just have to use your imagination!

This pie also happens to be another family recipe (see here for my great-grandmother's coffee cake), and as far as I am concerned, no Thanksgiving is complete without it.

I made my own pie crust for the first time this year and I would call it a mild success. It was delicious, but I had serious issues rolling it into a large enough circle, which is why the pie in the picture just barely has a crust. I used the Cooks Illustrated recipe as explained on Smitten Kitchen (although I used all butter, no shortening).

Sky in the Pie
(for a 9 inch pie crust)

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
9 inch unbaked pie crust

1 1/4 cups canned pure pumpkin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
dash salt
1 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl, mixing until well blended. Add egg; mix well. Spread on the bottom of the pastry crust.

2. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl; mix well. Carefully pour over cream cheese mixture.

3. Bake for 1 hour 5 minutes or until done (mine usually take 1 hour 15 minutes). Cool. Brush with maple syrup if desired (I don't know if I have ever had it with the syrup!)

Note: for a 10 inch pie, keep cream cheese mixture the same, but increase pumpkin to 2 1/4 cups, increase sugar to 3/4 cup and add one more egg to pumpkin mixture. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.