Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Pie

I’m doing another retake.  First it was the potatoes, gratin to mashed, and now it’s the pumpkin, from caramel pie to cheesecake.  It’s repetitive, I know.  I also admit, for a toddler blog, I have quite a few pumpkin recipes (here, here, here, and here).  But, what can I say I’m a raging pumpkin-a-holic.

I’m working on cutting back.  After all, this isn’t “Jessica’s Pumpkin Party” (although, it has a nice alliteration ring to it!).  In the meantime, before I decide to lay low on the orange stuff I have to tell you about this amazing pumpkin cheesecake crumble.  The taste and texture is similar to a New York style cheesecake, but immersed in pumpkin goodness.  The original recipe was for making cheesecake squares with sour cream topping.  I simplified mine and made it into a pie, left the sour cream out, and served it with crumbles of the leftover crust.  The crumble tastes like evil granola: full of nutty, whole grain flavors that mask the fatty, buttery, white flour reality.

  

  

I baked this for my brother and his friends who devoured this at an astonishing rate.  I set a slice aside to make sure I had a piece to photograph but discovered a few hours later that it was eaten!  The culprit: my brother, a.k.a. the Cheesecake King.  For dramatic effect, he left the empty, crumb filled plate back in the fridge as a means of telling me who’s boss.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Pie

Adapted from Epicurious

Crust:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup minus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick cold, unsalted butter (4 tablespoons
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup minus 2 tablespoons oats

Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 9-inch pie dish.  In a food processor, pulse flour, brown sugar, salt, and diced butter together. It should look like course sand.  Add the almonds and pulse until nuts are chopped.  Add oats and pulse until combined.  Press about 1 cup of crust crumb into pie dish and transfer the rest to a baking sheet.  Putting the baking sheet into the oven for 6 to 10 minutes or until golden.  Set aside. Bake the pie crust for about 10 minutes then remove from oven.

Meanwhile, make the filling by pureeing all the ingredients together. Fill pie crust and return to oven.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until sides start to rise.  Turn the oven off but keep the pie in the oven until temperature has cooled.  Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Serve with sprinkles of crust crumble.