No-Bake Pumpkin Cream Pie ♥

A simple creamy pumpkin pie, part pie, part cheesecake in an easy no-rolling press-in gingersnap crust. Totally simple and pleasing!

Does anyone else "count" the weeks? Once upon a time in the paper-based dark ages, I kept track of my life with slim leather calendars that numbered the weeks, Week 1 in January through Week 52 in December. Ever since, I use week numbers to track a now-fourteen-year recipe collection from Kitchen Parade, my online food column, and a twelve-year collection of vegetable recipes here on A Veggie Venture. Week numbers? They mark my March of Time.

The point? Somehow – how did this happen? – here it is, Week 47 in 2016. And these last remaining weeks of the year that include Thanksgiving and the rush to Christmas? They flyyyyyyyyyyy by in a blur.

Since Father's Day, the March of Time here has been punctuated by #PieDayFriday. At first, seven days between pies felt like, well, a week between pies. Now, with the busy-ness of the holidays fast approaching, it's like whoosh, I make pie one day and a couple hours later, it's Friday again.

So simple is good. And this pie? Totally simple good. Easy to make, easy to eat, part pie, part cheesecake. For Thanksgiving, I"ll return to this long-time favorite traditional pumpkin pie sweetened with honey, not sugar or corn syrup, Honey Pumpkin Pie. But until then? and afterward? Pumpkin Cream it is.

RECIPE for PUMPKIN CREAM PIE

Hands-on time: 40 minutes
Time to table: 4 hours
Makes a 9-inch shallow pie to serve 8 or 10

CRUST
6 ounces (170g) ginger snap cookies
4 tablespoons melted salted butter

WHIPPED CREAM
1 cup (235g) heavy cream
1 tablespoon sour cream

PUMPKIN CREAM
8 ounces (225g) light cream cheese (Neufchatel), room temperature
1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
1/2 cup (130g) canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch salt
Half the Whipped Cream

TOPPING
Half the Whipped Cream
1/4 cup Maple-Glazed Pecans or toasted pecan pieces
Pinch pumpkin pie spice

CRUST Break cookies into pieces, then use a food processor to form small crumbs. (Leave the food processor out, you're going to use it to make whipped cream!) In a bowl, use the back of a spoon to press butter and crumbs together until all crumbs are wet. Dump wet crumbs into a shallow 9-inch glass pie pan, use the spoon back to distribute (just roughly) across bottom and toward the sides. Use the spoon to form the sides, pressing both sideways and upward, aiming for equal thickness. Once the sides are formed, spread remainder of crumbs across the bottom and press to condense; if you push against junction of the bottom and the sides, the sides will gradually creep up the sides. Once the crust is formed, chill in the refrigerator.

WHIPPED CREAM While the food processor is still out, wipe out the interior to remove the crumbs (or don't, if you're not that particular, I wasn't). Add the cream and sour cream, process until cream becomes thick. You'll use half for the Pumpkin Cream, half for the Topping.

PUMPKIN CREAM In a bowl, use an electric mixer to mix cream cheese and sugar until they are completely combined and all lumps are out of the cream cheese. Add the pumpkin, lemon juice, pumpkin pie spice and salt and mix until fully combined. With a spatula, fold in half the whipped cream. Pour into the chilled pie crust and spread evenly.

TOPPING Spread remaining whipped cream across the pie, leaving an rim of exposed pumpkin cream. Sprinkle with Maple-Glazed Pecans and pumpkin pie spice.

CHILL the pie until ready to serve, at least 3 hours.

LEFTOVERS Pumpkin Cream Pie is best on the first day, within a few hours of making.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
PUMPKIN PIE SPICE I make quadruple batches of my own Pumpkin Pie Spice every year (the recipe is here with Pumpkin Spice Lattes. If you don't have your own spice mix and would prefer to make just enough for this pie, use 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/3 teaspoon ginger and nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon allspice and cardamom plus a pinch of cloves. This will make a generous couple of teaspoons, be sure to save aside a little to sprinkle on top.
LEMON JUICE? It brightens the creaminess of the pie. I also read somewhere that the acidity of the lemon juice helps firm up the pie for firmer slices.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Per Slice (assumes 10 slices): 333 Calories; 22g Tot Fat; 12g Sat Fat; 62mg Cholesterol; 232mg Sodium; 29g Carb; 1g Fiber; 19g Sugar; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS WW Old Points 8, WW PointsPlus 9, WW SmartPoints 15 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 1/3 slice.

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from No-Bake Pumpkin Cream Pie from In Jennie's Kitchen.

---

Still Hungry?

NEVER MISS A RECIPE!

For "home delivery" of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here.
Once you do, new recipes will be automatically delivered straight to your e-mail In Box.

MORE FAVORITE PIE RECIPES

~ Honey Pumpkin Pie ~
~ Sweet Potato-Chocolate Swirl Pie ~
~ Old-Fashioned Green Tomato Pie ~
~ more dessert recipes with vegetables ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ #PieDayFriday ~
~ American Apple Pie ~
~ Apple-Butter Pumpkin Pie ~
~ Pumpkin Pecan Pie ~
~ more pie & tart recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

SEASONAL EATING: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS (YEP, WEEK 47)

Secret-Ingredient Cookies with Pecans Green Beans with Lemon & Pine Nuts Curried Cauliflower Veggies for Kids: One Very Sneaky Mom Marinated Vegetable Salad Weight Watchers Pumpkin Smoothie & Weight Watchers Mocha Smoothie How Not to Buy Acorn Squash (Essay) Surprise Weight Watchers Truffles Green Beans with Browned Butter & Pine Nuts Celery Salad with Dates & Walnuts Quick Green Chile Stew (< make this before starting to cook Thanksgiving dinner!) Caramelized Onion Tart Simple Scalloped Potatoes How to Cook Dried Chickpeas Especially for Hummus aka "Jerusalem Chickpeas" Roasted Eggplant “Hummus" (Eggplant & Chickpea Dip & Spread)

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2016