A silky smooth filling with a nice balance of spice in a flavorful, crunchy crust. Serve with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of homemade whipped cream flavored with a splash of bourbon if you like.
Filling
2 large eggs
One 15-ounce canned pumpkin purée
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
Ginger Snap Cookie Crust (recipe below)
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until well combined. Pour in the half-and-half and stir to blend. Transfer the pumpkin mixture to the prepared gingersnap crust.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The center of the pie will not be completely firm. Let cool for 1 to 2 hour before serving warm. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for another hour to chill completely. To store, refrigerate the covered pie for up to 3 days.
Makes one 9-inch pie
Ginger Snap Cookie Crust
8 ounces gingersnap cookies, (1 box SNAPS cookies)
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
Break up the cookies slightly and add them to a food processor or blender. Pulse until they are finely ground. Add the butter and pecan, if using, and pulse a few times to combine.
Press the gingersnap mixture evenly into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Cool the crust 10 minutes before adding the filling.
Sharon O'Connor 