Double Decker Pumpkin Pie || Autumnal Equinox Dinner || Course 7

This was the dessert and final course of the A.E. Dinner. It was amazing. I absolutely love this recipe. There was not pumpkin pie filling to be found in Silver City, so I ended up making this completely from scratch. I got the recipe to make the pumpkin pie filling from scratch here. It made GREAT pie filling and it was fun to say that I made this starting with the pumpkin itself.

I know this pie is not pretty, but it sure tastes good!

Ingredients for crust:
2 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
2/3 c. white sugar
2/3 c. butter/margarine

Ingredients for Pie Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk or half and half
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups whipped cream topping
1 graham cracker crust
1 cup cold milk or half and half
2 small vanilla flavored instant pudding packages
1 can pumpkin pie filling (16 oz) (I used 16 oz -which is 2 cups- of my homemade pie filling)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves

(If you make your own pie filling from scratch, you don't need the last 4 ingredients...it's in the pie filling!)

Method:

1. To make the crust, melt the butter and then add 2/3 c. sugar and the graham cracker crumbs. Press into a pie pan (preferably one of the large glass ones, not the little tin ones which aren't quite big enough).

2.To make the pie:
Beat cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of milk, and sugar with wire whisk until smooth. Gently stir in the whipped cream topping. Spread on bottom of graham cracker crust. Pour 1 cup milk into bowl, add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk for one to two minutes--mixture will be thick. Stir in pumpkin and spices with wire whisk. Mix well. Spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate four hours, or until set.