Gingersnap Streusel Pumpkin Pie

This was perhaps the dish I was most excited about when it came to my homemade Thanksgiving meal. For the past few years, I've been in charge of making a dessert for the great November feast. Almost always I will make an apple pie of some sort, and possible something else if I feel inspired. Of course, I'm not the only one making dessert in these situations so there is always a traditional pumpkin pie that someone else has made - after all, what is a Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie? Though I don't really care for the traditional pumpkin pie and hardly ever partake in it when given the option to select my pie choice, pumpkin pie is one of those staples that must always appear at the dinner table on Thanksgiving. I'll compare it to the boring aunt that's always there - she's not an exciting addition to the table but something would be missing if she were absent. Thus, I opt to make the "exciting selection" and leave the preparation of the old classic to someone else.

This year, however, I was faced with a bit of a dilemma. Thanksgiving took on a whole new shape as my parents flew out from South Carolina and the four of us dined around my small round table in my small box of an apartment. Surely there would be no one else to bring the pumpkin pie other than yours truly. Because most of what I do is a tweak on an original, when I finally decided that it was I who had to make the pumpkin pie, I was not going to bring the "boring aunt" to the table. Nor was the "exciting friend" (apple pie or other) going to show up as there was no way I would be baking two pies for four people, that would be overkill. Thus, I searched the Internet far in wide for a perfect recipe that would turn the traditional pumpkin pie into and interesting and welcome guest at my dining table.

My inspiration was gingersnaps. My favorite pumpkin pie to date had been a frozen pumpkin pie with a gingersnap crust. Hardly a "pumpkin pie" in the traditional sense but so delicious and the flavors just blend together perfectly. I thought of just making a normal pumpkin pie with a gingersnap crust...but then realized that my Mom would be coming in town and she makes such a fantastic butter (or rather, shortening) crust, that I'd have to let her contribute that component to the Thanksgiving meal.

All of these planning obstacles and dilemmas came to a halt when I came across, in my mind, the perfect compromise of a pumpkin pie recipe:

Gingersnap Streusel Pumpkin Pie

1 flaky pie crust, unbaked
2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 40)
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup melted butter
about 2 cups fresh pumpkin pure (what a difference!!)
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup ground ginger

Streusel Topping
¼ cup flour
¼ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp melted butter
¾ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F. Fit pie crust into a 9 inch deep pie pan (preferably ceramic). Fold edges under and crimp as desired.

Stir together crushed gingersnaps, chopped pecans, powdered sugar and melted butter. Press mixture on the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of the pie crust.

Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack (about 30 minutes).
Whisk together pumpkin and next 6 ingredients until well blended. Pour into prepared crust. Place pie on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle Streusel around the edge of the crust. Bake 40 minutes longer or until set, shielding edges with aluminum foil during last 25 minutes of baking if necessary.

This was one of the best, if not the best, pie I've ever had. And I'm not "tooting my own horn" it was really that fantastic. A flaky crust (I think the recipe my Mom followed was something like: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basic-Flaky-Pie-Crust/Detail.aspx), with a spicy, sweet, almost gooey gingersnap streusel layer, fresh pumpkin pie filling, and a nutty topping...a combination to make me simple melt at first bite.

You may be wondering - what's the difference between canned pumpkin puree and fresh pumpkin puree. Well, the obvious initial difference is time and ease of use. Of course canned pumpkin is certainly easier to use...and it's quite tasty when prepared correctly. However, I took a little bite of canned puree and then some of my fresh puree and WOW - there's a difference. The canned tasted almost bitter in comparison to my sugar pie pumpkin puree. It was much darker in color (which I think is a positive...it gives the traditional pumpkin pie look), and much more dense. The final product was lighter and truly tasty.

There is absolutely nothing that I would change to this recipe. My only concern is...do I have to wait a full year now to make it again??