So, you’ve seen this pie before.

In little mini, individual versions.

Spices. Carrots. Cream cheese custard. PIE. Oh, my!

This time I decided to go for the full shebang!
I doubled the recipe, used a super duper deep pie plate, and garnished galore.

Eat your heart out, baby!

Spiced Carrot Cheesecake Pie

Spiced Carrot Cheesecake Pie

Pie Crust:
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. unsalted butter, chilled and cubed (the butter needs to be ICE cold)
3/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
1/2 cup ice cold water

Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and shortening.
Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter and shortening into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal or pea-sized bits.
Measure 1/2 cup of water in a cup. Add ice. From that, measure 1/2 cup of water– since the ice has melted a bit. Drizzle the cold water in, 1 Tbs. at a time, and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon after each added Tbs. Do not add any more water than you need to. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps.
Transfer the pie dough to a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Using floured hands, fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the fats. Form it into a ball. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half into 1-inch thick discs using your hands.
Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (and up to 5 days).
When rolling out the chilled pie dough discs to use in your pie, always use gentle force with the rolling pin. Start from the center of the disc and work your way out in all directions, turning the dough with your hands as you go. Roll into a standard 9″ pie crust size** (which means, slightly larger in order to push the dough up the sides and cover all surfaces). Once the two rounds are rolled out, you’re ready to go!

Lay the bottom crust(s) neatly in a glass pie plate.

Using a knife, thinly slice 1/2 the remaining crust into 1/4″ ribbons (no need to measure). Using the ribbon strips three at a time, braid to form the crust edge ornamentation.
Ring the braid around the edge of the pie plate. Use carrot cookie cutters for the remaining decor.

Cheesecake Filling:
16 oz. organic cream cheese, softened to room temperature
4 medium eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
dash of salt
1 cup shredded organic carrots (yes, organic makes a difference…tastes WAY better)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, sugar, vanilla, pie spice, and salt. Beat again until super smooth. Fold in the carrots and pecans.
Fill the pie crust with the filling.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the edges are brown and crispy.