[happy thanksgiving!] pumpkin chocolate cheesecake pie

Well, yesterday was dessert day, which was why I never got around to posting a recipe. By the end of the day, our total dessert tally included Grandma Ople's Apple Pie, Maple-Pumpkin Cheesecake, Triple Berry Pie, Luke's Garbage Lid Pumpkin Pie, and new this year: Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie. Since Luke's recipe is still a family secret, I'll share the cheesecake pie recipe with you instead...

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie [bhg.com]

I made this pie earlier this fall to test it out. I have to admit that I was really pleased with how it looked, but not as thrilled with how it tasted. It tastes fine, of course, but just not WOW. I tried some modifications for tonight's dinner, so the modified recipe is still in the works. I can tell you that the first time I made it, however, the crust was kind of tough, so I tried my go-to pie crust recipe instead this time, and it was way too soft to bake on its own, so I until I figure out something different, this recipe is stuck with a pretty tough crust. Here's what our Thanksgiving guests tried tonight...

Ingredients

1 recipe Deep Dish Pie Pastry, below

12 ounces cream cheese, softened (1-1/2 8-oz. pkgs.)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup finely chopped semisweet chocolate or miniature chocolate pieces

1 15 ounce can pumpkin

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup half-and-half or light cream

Chopped chocolate (optional)

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare and roll out Deep Dish Pie Pastry. Transfer pastry to a 9-1/2- to 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim crust edge 1/2-inch beyond pie plate. Flute edge high. Line pastry with double thickness of foil. Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 6 minutes more or until golden. Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
2. In medium mixing bowl combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 egg; beat on low speed until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture in cooled pastry shell. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate.
3. In bowl combine pumpkin, brown sugar, and spice. Stir in 4 eggs. Gradually stir in half-and-half. Slowly pour pumpkin mixture on chocolate layer. To prevent overbrowning, cover pie edge with foil.
4. Bake 60 to 65 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove foil. Cool on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hour. Top with chopped chocolate.

Pastry for Deep-Dish Pie

In a medium bowl stir together 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/2 cup of butter until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of the flour mixture; toss gently with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat with additional cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour mixture is moistened (about 4-5 tablespoons). Shape into a ball.

And today, I am thankful for the community we have in God's family-- that even though we couldn't be with our own families this year, we still had brothers and sisters join us for our Thanksgiving feast.