Autumn. The leaves are falling (and clogging my gutters), the weather is changing (finally), and I start craving flavored coffee, pumpkin pie, eggnog, and amaretto – not necessarily in that order. This recipe combines two of those cravings into one sinfully delicious dessert.

Amaretto Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup amaretti cookies, crushed fine
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 cups pumpkin puree, unsweetened if canned
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 3 tablespoons amaretto
• 2 pinches salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss cookie crumbs and butter in a small bowl until well-combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie pan. Cover edges with tin foil and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour into prepared and cooled pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting; serve with freshly whipped ginger cream (1 cup heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger) and garnish with slivered almonds, if desired.

Image by JamesJyu.

In a grown-up twist on traditional pumpkin pie, this dessert combines the smoothness of a custard pie with the crisply burnt goodness of creme brulée. Use whatever pie dough recipe you prefer here (even store-bought crusts will work). For an extra-crispy crust, refrigerate the dough for 2 hours before blind-baking. If you use canned pumpkin, be sure to use the unsweetened, pure pumpkin variety and not pre-seasoned pumpkin pie filling.

Bruléed Pumpkin Custard Tart

Ingredients:

• Dough for 1 pie crust
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (drained if fresh)
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for topping
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• pinch salt
• 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Special Equipment:

• 9″ round fluted tart pan, buttered

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fit pie dough into the tart pan and dock with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes and cool, in pan, on a wire rack.

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, cream, 1/3 cup sugar, vanilla, spices, salt, and eggs until well-combined. Pour into crust and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until filling is almost set. Cool to room temperature, then cover and chill 6 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar over top of tart; melt sugar under broiler or with a kitchen torch to desired doneness. Serve immediately.

Serves 8-10.