Pumpkin and Rye Whiskey Pie

Pumpkin and Rye Whiskey Pie adds rye whiskey’s spicy, fruity flavor notes to silky pumpkin pie, yielding a more adult but not boozy version of an old favorite.  American rye whisky, which must be made with at least 51% rye grain, is less sweet and with a lighter body than it’s more well-known cousin, bourbon, and produces drier, less sweet, cocktails.  For some historical notes, George Washington’s original distiller at Mount Vernon averaged 11,000 gallons per year of rye whiskey at its peak and rye whiskey was the prevalent whiskey in the northeastern states, particularly Maryland and Pennsylvania, with Pittsburgh being the center of rye whiskey production in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Rye whiskey largely disappeared after Prohibition, though happily it has been undergoing a growing revival in the United States since the beginning of the 21st century, with many bartenders restoring it in many classic cocktails such as the whiskey sour and old fashioned. The Brooklyn, made with rye whiskey, is rivalling its cousin, the Manhattan, in popularity as well. 

Our Pumpkin and Rye Whiskey Pie brings rye whiskey into the bakery and uses it in both the pie crust and the pie filling.  The filling for Pumpkin and Rye Whiskey Pie incorporates, in addition to rye whiskey and spices, heavy cream for silkiness, eggs for lightness and vanilla extract which enhances the rye whiskey’s flavor notes.  While this recipe is keto, you may substitute non-keto ingredients as you like; however, we recommend making the recipe as is, you won’t even notice it’s keto. Enjoy Pumpkin and Rye Whiskey Pie any time of the year, particularly for dessert after Brandied Beef Tri Tip.

Pumpkin and Rye Whiskey Pie

For the pie crust: Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes. 

For the pie: Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. Serves 8.

Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Pumpkin and Rye Whiskey Pie recipe for $1.00.

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Pumpkin Pie NY Cheesecake

Pumpkin Pie NY Cheesecake is the dessert you need for the Autumn and Winter holidays… or any time of year! We incorporated pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice with a slightly modified version of Vito’s Mom’s recipe for New York Style Cheesecake.

There are “must-do” parts in this recipe: 1) use a 9” or 10” springform pan, preferably with a non-stick coating, 2) use an electric hand mixer and 3) after baking, leave the Pumpkin Pie NY Cheesecake in the oven with the door propped open and the heat turned off for 1 hour to rest.

While many recipes call for using a bain marie or water bath when baking a cheesecake, it can be cumbersome.  For most home bakers, it is difficult to execute properly and if you get a leak between the springform pan and the bain marie, you have a soggy disaster on your hands.  While the water bath method is supposed to result in less cracking of the top crust, that has not been my experience.  That said, some light cracking in the cheesecake’s top crust adds character and traps some of our lovely Blueberry Bourbon Dessert Sauce. Pumpkin Pie NY Cheesecake is beautiful to serve and absolutely delicious to eat; it is well worth time required to make it.

Pumpkin Pie NY Cheesecake

For the crust: Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 35 to 45 minutes.

For the cheesecake: Prep Time: 1-hour, Total Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes.

Yields One 9 or 10-inch cheesecake of 8 servings.

Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Pumpkin Pie NY Cheesecake recipe for $1.00.

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