Yummy pumpkin pie

An excellent recipe from Paula Deen along with a video:

A traditional sweet dessert served during special holidays, the pie has a pumpkin-based custard with color ranging from orange to brown. Baked in a single pie shell and rarely with a top crust, a pumpkin pie is usually flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger, and topped with whipped cream.  While there are now a range of canned pumpkin or packaged pumpkin pie fillings available in bakeries and grocery stores, I still find homemade pumpkin pie the best.

Here are the ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 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
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Whipped cream, for topping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. 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.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream 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. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Total Time: 1 hr 35 min
Preparation: 15 min
Inactive: 30 min
Cook: 50 min
No. of servings: 6 to 8