Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie

I love pumpkin pie, and I have spent several years trying different recipes, altering recipes, and trying to make a perfect pumpkin pie. I have made five already this year, and I am loving my current recipe, so I wanted to share it with you. The husband doesn't even like pumpkin pie, but he still manages to eat half of this one. ; )

Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie
 
Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) container of mascarpone cheese (available at Whole Foods, Earthfare, or Trader Joes)
• 2 cups of cooked pumpkin, pureed (directions on how to cook a fresh pumpkin below)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
• 1 pie crust or pie dough
• Whipped cream, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare pumpkin:

Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds (you can save them for toasting- a delicious snack!). Place in a medium or large saucepan depending on size, face down, with about 2 inches of water in the bottom. Cook on medium heat, covered, until soft (about 30-40 minutes). Keep an eye on it and add more water if necessary. Allow to cool, then scoop out pumpkin/remove peeling. Puree the pumpkin with an immersion blender, food processor, or blender until smooth. This can be done ahead of time to make pie baking go faster on the day of! You will probably have left over pumpkin. You can make this into a second pie, or add it to your coffee cream for a homemade pumpkin spice latte! 

To make crust pie:

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color. Don't skip the pie weights! Otherwise your crust will puff up.

Assembling the pie:

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.
Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. After about 30 minutes, either place a pie crust shield, or a piece of foil that is cut out in the shape of the edge of your pan around the pie to avoid crust from burning or getting too brown.

Enjoy! And if you are like my family, you might need to make two if you want one of them to last until Thanksgiving!