Joe's Incredible Bacon Pumpkin Pie

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

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 bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until evenly brown. Trim soft, fatty bits from strips. Press 7 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 degrees F (190 degrees C). Top each pie with 2 pieces of cooked bacon and bake another 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow pies to cool completely before serving.

Notes

I've made this pie for six years running. Some have suggested melting cheese on it and I say 'go for it!' Others pile on the whipped cream - another stellar move. Basically, this is the most versatile pie ever created and will bring guaranteed joy to all save the most incurable skeptics.