Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 cups ginger snap cookies crumbs (i used my food processor to grind them)
1/8 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Spray a 9" glass pie pan with Pam.

2. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour. Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.

4. Pour filling into pie pan, and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven; reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2

5. Remove from oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Just a word of advise, don't just butter the pie pan thinking that will be sufficient...you won't be able to get the crust out with the pie!! Other than that this pie was a BIG HIT. I made 2 for thanksgiving and everyone LOVED it. Including me. In fact, I ate a piece today and lamented that there is only half of one left. Although my ever expanding waist line is lucky thats all that is left of the thanksgiving leftovers!