My Favorite Pumpkin Pie

I love Thanksgiving, it's my favorite holiday of the year. It's the only day where family and friends get together in their homes and cook then eat throughout the day and into the evening. I was admiring the sounds of ferocious chopping, pans clattering in the apartments around me and the amazing cooking fragrance in the air. Oh the wonderful aroma of Thanksgiving! Maybe we need another holiday dedicated to eating like on New Year's Eve perhaps to ring in the new year? Hmmm, I think I may just have to start that tradition, who's with me?!

This year I had a fabulous feast with some dear friends of mine. My hosts put out an impressive spread of turkey with gravy, wild rice stuffing, brussels sprouts with bacon, salad, sweet potatoes with cranberry.... am I missing anything else? Everything was quite divine and I managed to eat everything on my plate and then some. For dessert, I brought over a pumpkin pie that I make every year which is always a hit with everyone. This is no ordinary pumpkin pie, it has a magical topping that just takes it to a whole 'nother level. If you want to make a pie for that next holiday event, look no further this is THE ONE!

MY FAVORITE PUMPKIN PIE

Recipe found online somewhere. Serves 8 healthy slices

INGREDIENTS

9" frozen deep dish pie crust

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons butter, chilled

1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Separate the eggs, and beat the whites until fluffy.
3. In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt & condensed milk until smooth.
4. Gently fold in the egg whites.
5. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the pie from the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.
7. While the pie is baking, prepare the streusel topping.
8. Combine the flour, brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
9. With 2 knives or a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until the mixture is crumbly.
10. Mix in the chopped nuts.
11. Sprinkle the topping over the pie.
12. Return the pie to the oven and bake an additional 40 minutes or until the topping is nice and golden brown.
13. Once the pie has cooled, dig in! Don't forget to serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream :).