Not your grandma's pumpkin pie

I will let everyone in on a secret. I hate pumpkin pie. I mean, I really hate it. I love pumpkin. Really anything pumpkin. And when I say love, I mean to an unhealthy degree. But I think that pumpkin pie is a scourge on the good name of pumpkin goodness. It's too orange and too spiced and too dense and too sweet and too....pumpkin pie.

I do, however, love MY pumpkin pie. There are several differences that make me like mine over any other, and they are: I only use fresh, not canned pumpkin; I use cream cheese instead of evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk (no it is not a pumpkin cheesecake, although those are delicious); and I beat the crap out of it until it's super fluffy. The end result? A light, fluffy, tasty pie that isn't so sweet or rich that you can only eat a couple bites. I have literally eaten an entire pie by myself. In one sitting. For breakfast. And later discovered that my mother-in-law, her husband, my father-in-law, AND his wife, all did the same thing. :)

Here goes:

1 8oz cream cheese (softened)
2 c pumpkin FRESH roasted pumpkin (if you don't know how to do that, ask and I will write a tutorial...you know who you are)
1 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1 egg + 2 egg yolks, beaten
1c half and half
1/4 c butter
1t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
pie dough (2)
(I'm not going to leave a recipe for this. If you want one, ask and I will - you know who you are!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your pie crust with foil and fill with weights or beans, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and beans and bake again for another 10 minutes. Cool.

Beat cream cheese. Add fresh pumpkin and beat. Add sugar and salt beat again. Add eggs, half and half, and butter and beat. Add vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, and beat again. Pour into pie crusts and bake, 50 minutes.

*Depending on my oven and altitude, I have baked this pie anywhere between 50 minutes and an hour and a half. Just take it out when the center is no longer jiggly.*