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RICOTTA PIE (ITALIAN CHEESECAKE
- NO CREAM CHEESE!)
 
With a shortage of Cream Cheese at the supermarket this Holiday Season, try this Italian Ricotta Pie - your family and guests will love it!

Crust:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/8 cup ice water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
1 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
5-6 large eggs
1 tablespoon Strega liquor (Galliano)

Slice butter into chunks. Keep cold. Cut butter and Crisco into flour until mixture is combined, leaving large chunks the size of walnuts.

Beat eggs and add to water. Water should be very cold and can contain tiny ice chips for best results. Stir in salt, vanilla.

Slowly add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients to form a pie crust type dough. Do not overwork.

Divide into 4 pieces. Dust each lightly with flour, gather into a ball, flatten into a disk shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in a large ziploc bag in the refrigerator for a minimum of one hour or overnight. Remove and allow to sit at room temperature 20-30 minutes before using.

Filling:

4 lbs whole milk ricotta
10-12 large eggs (reserve one egg yolk)
2 nip-sized bottle anisette liquor
fresh citron
1 1/2 cups sugar

Remove crust from refrigerator, allow to sit 20 minutes or so, and roll out four crusts. Grease and flour 2 large, deep dish pie pans and line with two crusts.

Combine ingredients for filling and divide into two portions. If you're using an electric mixer to combine the filling ingredients, be sure to leave speed on the lowest setting - you don't want to beat air into the mixture.

Cut top crusts into 1 1/2 inch wide lattice strips with fancy rolling wavy-edged cutter or if you don't have one, a sharp knife.

Pour filling evenly into the two pie crusts. Brush the edges of the pie bottom with milk.

Build a lattice top crust (optional) for the pie by weaving lattice strips to cover the pie, interlacing strips.

Beat reserved egg yolk with one tablespoon Strega liquor. Brush top of pie crust generously with this mixture.

Crimp well to seal where crusts meet.

Note: If you don't have the time, you can just use a plain crust top, skipping the lattice. Or make it an open top pie, with only one crust, as you would a pumpkin pie or cheesecake.

Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted in center comes out nearly dry.

When cool, sprinkle liberally with confectioners' sugar and serve.

Makes two large pies.

Submitted by: CM

recipe reviews
Ricotta Pie (Italian Cheesecake - No Cream Cheese!)
   #186643
 MaryN672 (Massachusetts) says:
This recipe is really easy to make. Once you read it through the steps fall into place just like any other pie. When we were kids we bought slices of this pie at the Italian bakery in the North End of Boston. The best cheesecake you will ever have. Mangia!

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