I Am Within: Autumn Harvest Pie

I have been working on this pie for a while, and have hesitated to share it. The crust on this recipe can easily get over done around the edges, but I personally don't mind it. The edges could be covered with foil or you could use a traditional pie crust recipe. To to me, though, a traditional crust would just take away the essence of what the pie is and represents. I want to enjoy all the harvest goodness!!

Autumn Harvest Pie

Crust ingredients:

One sleeve graham crackers
3 T butter, melted
1/4 c shredded coconut
1/4 c dried cranberries
1/4 c pecan pieces
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 t maple maple flavoring

Pie Filling Ingredients:

1 can pumpkin puree
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c can milk
1/2 c apple cider
2 large eggs
1 T corn starch
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1/2 t ground ginger powder
1/2 t salt
1 pinch fine black pepper

Directions:
Melt butter.

Place the graham crackers in a food processor. Crumble them as you add them or pulse a couple times to break them up.

Add all the other crust ingredients except the melted butter to the processor. Pulse until ingredients form fine crumbs.

Set processor to mix, and slowly pour in the melted butter.

Press the crust ingredients into a pie plate. Use a deep dish, save part of the mixture in the freezer for a future pie, or place some in a ramekin. I chose the latter, but I snapped the photo before I made up my mind. I forgot to take another photo before I poured the filling. Oops! Please forgive me. 😁

Set the crust aside, and add the cream cheese to a large bowl. Beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy.

Gradually beat in the milk and cider until smooth.

Mix in the cornstarch.

Add the remaining ingredients, and mix well.

Once the ingredients are mixed well, pour the pie filling into the crust.

Bake the pie at 425° for 15 minutes. Turn the oven to 350° and continue to bake for another 35-45 minutes until the filling appears nearly set when shaken. Cool 1 hour.

This crust is dark to begin with. Because of the ingredients, it will get a lot darker during baking. Though the color was dark in nature, the only part of my crust that got a little too done were the very top edges that peeked out of the filling. You could tent the edges with foil or use crust shields, but I'm no professional baker. I rather like the rustic look.