RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Joe's Incredible Bacon Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is a fall favorite, but it's also a perfect pie to serve throughout the holiday season.

There are many different pumpkin pie recipes, even though it's difficult to improve on pumpkin pie which is known for its creamy consistency and warm spices. But pumpkin pie can be even more delicious with the addition of an extra-special ingredient: bacon.

This recipe for Joe's Incredible Bacon Pumpkin Pie, courtesy of Royal Bacon Society and Allrecipes, uses maple-cured bacon as well as tangy cream cheese to increase the appeal of pumpkin pie. This may be one slice of pie that is hard to put down. This recipe serves 12.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cubed fresh pumpkin

1 1/2 cups cream cheese, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup half-and-half

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 (10-inch) prepared graham cracker pie crusts

16 slices maple-cured bacon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil; add the pumpkin and cook until soft enough to easily pierce with a fork, about 10 minutes. Drain.

3. Mash the cooked pumpkin with a potato masher in your favorite large bowl. Mix the cream cheese and brown sugar with the mashed pumpkin. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla, half-and-half, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves; stir until you have a thin batter. The batter should be slightly thinner than pancake batter. Pour the batter into the pie crusts.

4. Place the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until evenly brown. Trim soft, fatty bits from strips. Press seven pieces of bacon into the batter of each pie with a fork.

5. Bake the pies in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to 375 F. Top each pie with two pieces of cooked bacon and bake.