Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

So, I have been Pinning pumpkin everything like a maniac since the day Starbucks brought back the pumpkin spice latte (PSL!), which is always 'coincidentally' around my birthday!

Oh, who am I kidding, I probably pinned pumpkin stuff all summer long, too.
Anyway, I was overdue to actually make something, and a couple weekends ago it felt like the right time.  It didn't hurt for inspiration that it was also the weekend I dug my adorable pumpkins out of storage and decorated for Fall/Halloween!

http://www.sotherebyamy.com/2012/11/pumpkin-forest.html

http://www.sotherebyamy.com/2012/11/pumpkin-forest.html

I had a 'skinny' pumpkin pie recipe I wanted to try, but it needed a little something extra.
Cheesecake!
Yep. I added a bottom layer of cheesecake, sweetened with maple syrup, to my pumpkin pie!
And you should do the same. Like, now!

I confirmed my idea I made up actually could be done, thanks to Baking Bites, and this recipe here:

For the rest of my ingredients, I went to Skinny Taste for this great, lightened up recipe, found here. A little less sugar, a couple egg whites...all that means in my book is you can have two slices instead of one! Or have a piece for breakfast without the guilt. No? Just me? Mkay, then. On to the recipe!

Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients:

Cheesecake Layer

8 oz light cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp pure organic maple syrup

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pumpkin Layer

15 oz can of pumpkin puree

2 tbsp butter, softened (I found this was better almost melted, otherwise you end up with bits of butter in 

your liquid filling)

1/2 cup light brown sugar, unpacked

1/4 cup pure organic maple syrup 

1/2 cup fat free milk

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 frozen pie crust sheet (thawed to room temperature) - Stater Bros has a great refrigerated one, and 

Trader Joes' frozen pie crust is not bad at all.

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll room temperature dough, and lay into pie tin. Crimp edges with your fingers or a fork. Poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork.

I made this in a 2" tall, 8" round spring form pan. Dude. spring form pans are awesome!!

You can make this in a regular pie tin, but you might not need to use the whole bowl of either filling, as a pie tin is more shallow. Just try to judge pouring half and half of the two mixes.

Make the cheesecake layer: 

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, maple syrup, egg and vanilla until all ingredients are well-combined and smooth. Spoon into unbaked crust and spread carefully into an even layer. Set aside in refrigerator.

Make the pumpkin pie layer:

Place pumpkin in a large bowl.  Add butter, and mix well.

Using an electric mixer, mix in brown sugar, maple syrup, milk, eggs, egg whites, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth.

Pour filling carefully on top of the cheesecake layer in pie crust.

They shouldn't swirl too much (unless you want them to!) because the pie filling is thinner than the cheesecake layer.


Bake at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes, or until the filling is set and jiggles only slightly when pan is gently tapped.


Let cool completely, and then chill for several hours or overnight.
This is especially true with a spring form pan; if you unmolded the pan while the crust was warm, it might fall apart. Not 100% on that, but that was my fear.

But let's be realistic, I ate about a slice and a half worth with a fork, piping hot from the oven. And it tasted amazing.  

THEN, I put it in the fridge overnight, and unmolded the pan in the morning. When I had another slice for breakfast. Come on, it has eggs and a vegetable! It's basically as healthy as an omelet ;)

If you are half as excited as I am that pumpkin everything season is upon us, you should really make this pie!

Linked up over at The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen!