Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake Pie

Looking for a recipe where you can use that leftover cup of pumpkin in the fridge? Look no further. I have now made this pie twice in the last month and can testify to its tastiness.

This recipe is from last month's Gourmet and doesn't take long to make if you have a food processor. The first time I made it I was a bit more careless in following the directions and the pie turned out perfectly. This time it wasn't quite as tasty and I followed the directions exactly.

A few changes that I recommend making:

1.) Don't follow their instruction for using one less tablespoon of melted butter in the pie crust. I used a full 5 T. the first time and the crust tasted better. Make sure you don't cook the crust to much or it will be a bit too crunchy.

2.) I wouldn't use as much ginger as they call for. It can be too strong and cause too much heartburn for your guests. The gingersnap crust already has ginger in it so you don't want to overpower the pie with ginger.

3.) Use canned pumpkin. The recipe doesn't call for much pumpkin and fresh pumpkin isn't strong enough for this pie. It's too light and loses to the strong ginger flavor. When I used canned pumpkin it turned out much tastier.

4.) If you want to use all (or most) of the filling in the pie then make sure you use a deep-dish pie pan. Otherwise you'll barely fit half of the filling in the pie.

5.) Make a day ahead of when you're serving it. Better yet, make the crust a day before you even make the pie and the pie will be that much simpler. This pie is perfect for guests since you make it ahead of time. I love it even though I'm generally not a huge fan of pumpkin pie or cheesecake. Somehow the two work great with together with the gingersnap* crust.

*I bought really tasty gingersnaps from Sprouts/Henry's/Boney's. They come in a brown bag with purple on it but I don't remember the brand.