Ricotta Pie

Recipe by PJ Hamel
23 Reviews 3.9 out of 5 stars

This traditional Italian sweet is usually served on special holidays — Easter in particular. But it's so tasty, you won't want to relegate it to only special occasions. Nicely sweet, with a thin layer of graham cracker crumbs and ground almonds in the bottom of the pan standing in for crust, it's mostly cheesecake. Using ricotta instead of cream cheese keeps the texture a bit lighter, and makes this pie a delicious source of calcium and vitamin D.

Prep
15 mins
Bake
45 to 50 mins
Total
1 hr
Yield
one 9" pie
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Ricotta Pie

Instructions

Prevent your screen from going dark as you follow along.

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rub a generous amount of soft butter on the inside of a 9" pie pan at least 1 1/2" deep; use a deep dish pan, if you have one. If your pie pan isn't at least 1 1/2" deep, substitute a 9" square pan.

  2. To make the crust: Place the graham crackers, sugar, almonds, and salt in a food processor or blender, and process until totally ground, but not powdery.

  3. Pour the crumbs into the pan, tilting and shaking the pan to distribute the crumbs across the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet, to make it easy to handle once you've added the filling.

  4. To make the filling: Mix together all the filling ingredients, and beat slowly until well combined. For smoother texture, gently pulse the filling in a food processor a few times.

  5. Pour the filling into the crust; it will come nearly to the lip of the pan.

  6. Bake the pie for 45 to 50 minutes, until it's becoming brown around the very outside edge, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 160°F. The pie will still look quite unset in the center; that's OK.

  7. Remove the pie from the oven, and cool it to room temperature. Once it's cool, refrigerate until chilled.

  8. Serve pie as is, or with the topping of your choice.

Tips from our Bakers

  • If you're not someone who keeps liqueur in the house but want to try the Amaretto in this recipe, purchase one of the small "nips" from the liquor store. It should be a scant 1/4 cup, but if it's not, don't worry; just use however much you have.
  • Orange marmalade, heated briefly in the microwave to make it pourable, is a nice topping for this pie. Grated orange peel is often one of the ingredients in the filling; but substituting an orange-based topping gives you more flexibility — in case your audience includes those who might not like orange in their cheesecake.

  • For a less traditional but tasty crust, substitute our Citrus-Scented Tart Dough for the graham cracker crust called for above.

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