My mom didn’t cook very often when I was a kid, and she almost never baked.  It wasn’t that she wasn’t able–she is actually a very good cook.  But, she doesn’t really enjoy cooking, where my dad does, so he took the cooking duties.

The holiday meals were the one thing she did enjoy cooking, and this pie always topped off our Thanksgiving dinners.  This is one of my absolute favorites, although I have taking over the tradition of making it.

I have actually made it twice already this year, although Thanksgiving is still over a month away, and i am sure I will make it a few more before the holidays are done.  I get a lot of requests for the recipe, so I decided it is time to share.  🙂

I have to be honest, pie crust is the one thing I hate to make.  So, unless it is for a special occasion, I tend to use a refrigerated pie crust for this pie, but feel free to substitute in your favorite crust. (I doubled the recipe for the below pictures. The recipe that follows will make one pie.)

Roll your crust into a pie plate and crimp the edges.

Beat the Cream cheese, Sugar, and Vanilla until combined.

Add the egg and beat until smooth.

Pour cream cheese mixture into bottom of crust and spread until even.

Combine the Remaining ingredients in a large bowl (I do this step by hand, but it can also be done with a mixer on low.)

Use a whisk or mixer to combine until smooth.

Carefully ladle this over the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for about an hour, until the pumpkin is set. Remove from the oven and cool.

Chill for at least four hours before slicing. Enjoy!

That’s all there is to it! It is actually a really easy recipe, and usually takes less than 10 minutes before it is ready to go in the oven. The hardest part for me is waiting for it to sit in the refrigerator until it is cold! 🙂

Here is the full recipe:

How about you? Do you have a favorite autumn treat? A family recipe that you look forward to all year? Please share! 🙂