Pumpkin Pie
October 13th, 2008
“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.”
-Jim Davis
Apple week has come to an end. So this week I’m focusing on another fall favorite: winter squash. The most ubiquitous of all winter squash is the pumpkin, so pumpkin pie seems to be an appropriate introduction to the merits of the winter squash.
Pumpkin Pie is a serious undertaking in our household. My boyfriend, Ian, doesn’t have birthday cake–he has pumpkin pie. I remember the first time I made his favorite dessert, and he informed me that it wasn’t as good as his mother’s. Although I wouldn’t usually be responsive to (or tolerant of) that sort of criticism, I knew how important pumpkin pie was to him, so I called his mom and got her recipe.
Ian’s Pumpkin Pie
- unbaked 9″, deep dish pie crust shell
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups peeled, cooked, mashed pumpkin (13 oz can)
- 1/3 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add the remaining ingredients and beat thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the 9″ deep dish pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Basic Pie Crust (adapted from a recipe in Old Fashioned Pie Recipes)
- 1 1/2 cups (all-purpose) flour, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fat (butter/shortening)
- approximately 1/4 cup ice water
Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Cut the fat into the flour mixture using a pastry blender (or two knives). Slowly add the icy water, work into a ball. (I work the dough with my hands while I’m adding the water to get a better sense of the texture and moisture of the dough.) The dough should be just moistened-it is important to maintain bits of fat in the dough. Refrigerate the dough, covered with a tea towel or plastic wrap, for approximately an hour. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface.
Although I usually use canned pumpkin, I decided to go the whole nine yards in honor of winter squash week. The result was very good–the pumpkin pie was airier in texture, and it had a richer brown sugar/carmel flavor because I twice baked the pumpkin before pureeing.
Topped with homemade whipped cream, the pie was delicious. And most important, it got my biggest pumpkin pie critic’s seal of approval!
