Pumpkin-Ricotta Pie

Another great recipe from Food Network. We always have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to make it more interesting than the traditional pumpkin pie that I usually make. This recipe intrigued me because it’s half pure pumpkin and half ricotta cheese. It came out moist and delicious. The cream cheese crust is made from scratch—don’t worry, it’s not that complicated to make, as you will see if you try this recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 disk dough for Cream Cheese Crust (see recipe below)

All-purpose flour, for dusting

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin

1 cup ricotta cheese

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate; fold the overhang under itself and crimp. Chill 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. Line with foil, fill with dried beans and bake until the edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Remove the beans and foil and bake 10 more minutes. Cool on a rack.

Whisk the pumpkin, ricotta, sugar, eggs and spices in a bowl; pour into the crust. Bake until the center is just barely set, about 1 hour. (Cover the edges with foil if they brown too quickly). Cool on a rack. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Cream Cheese Crust

(Makes one disk dough)

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

2 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons ice water

Pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles very coarse corn meal. Add the cream cheese and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the ice water, and pulse a few times until the dough holds together when squeezed between your fingers. Add a bit more of the ice water if necessary until you get the right consistency. Gather the mixture into a ball, put on a sheet of plastic wrap, and pat into a disk. Wrap in the plastic and chill at least 4 hours before using.