Every girl should have a pie. Pumpkin pie is mine. I discovered the recipe a few Thanksgivings ago and it’s become a holiday tradition. And I love pumpkins. Deeply. Even saying the word “pumpkin” makes me feel all warm and happy inside. I’m making this pie for a Thanksgiving gathering this Sunday and I can’t wait.
Bake it and be glad.
(In the photo are the baking pumpkins I picked up a farmer’s market yesterday in St. Louis Square. I’ll be using one for the pie and another for a pumpkin pasta recipe I’m also crazy about. I may even make a pumpkin risotto– that’s how much I love pumpkins!)
Fresh Pumpkin Pie
Once you use fresh pumpkin you can never go back to canned. This recipe uses brown sugar instead of molasses and I much prefer both the flavour and the colour (using molasses darkens the pie, but this one is a cheerful bright orange.) The spicing is very light and delicate which lets the pumpkin flavour shine, and there’s no cloves, though I sometimes add just a smidge. (Recipe adapted from Randy Scott, allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin
1 12-ounce can of evaporated milk (2 % milk fat)
2 eggs beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (fresh ground is preferable)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the pastry
1, 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled butter
1/4 cup cold ice water
For serving:
small carton of whipping cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Halve pumpkin and scoop out seeds and stringy portions. Cut pumpkin into chunks, skin still on. Place pumpkin in a saucepan with about 1 inch water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain, cook and remove the peel.
Return pumkpin to the saucepan, or a big bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Drain well.
Prepare pie crust by mixing together the flour and the salt. Cut butter into small cubes. Then mix into flour, add 1 tablespoon water to mixture at a time. Mix dough and repeat until dough is moist enough to hold together and can form a ball. Wrap ball in plastic and place in fridge for 15 min to an hour.
With lightly floured hands place ball on a floured cutting board and roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. With a sharp knife cut dough 1 1/2 inch larger than the upside down 9 inch pie plate. Gently roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it to the pie plate (now right side up, of course.) Unroll, easing dough into the bottom of the pie plate. Place in fridge until following step is completed.
In a large bowl beat pumpkin with evaporated milk eggs, brown sugar cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves (if using) and salt. Mix well. Pour into a prepared crust. Bake 40 minutes up to an hour or even more — depending on size of your pie plate — or when a knife, inserted 1 inch from the edge, comes out clean. (My 9 inch glass pie plate took about an hour.)
Serve with fresh whipping cream and an extra sprinkle of fresh ground nutmeg and/or cinnamon. Wow!!