Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the smell of pumpkin pie is in the air! I was never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie (or really any pumpkin desserts), especially the store bought versions – but this homemade pie is absolutely delicious! A perfect, buttery pie crust (I use my Zulay Kitchen French rolling pin for the perfect crust), some freshly made homemade whipped cream, and a pumpkin filling that’s got the right amount of both sweetness and pumpkin spice. Please celebrate Thanksgiving safely and responsibly this year, and let me know – what’s your favorite holiday dessert?
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Filling
- 15 oz pumpkin puree (1 can)
- 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk (283g)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (99g)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (106g)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper, optional
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (177g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp vegetable shortening (46g)
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter, cold (71g)
- 3-5 tbsp ice wwater
Instructions
Crust – Makes 1 single pie crust
- Whisk together the flour and salt
- Add shortening, and cut it into the flour mixture until evenly crumbly. You can also use your hand or two knives if you don't have a pastry cutter.
- Add the butter in small ~1/2" pieces to the flour mix, and work it in roughly. Don't overwork the butter though, you want it to be uneven, with some larger pieces of butter and some smaller.
- Add 2 tbsp of ice water, and toss with your hands or a rubber spatula to combine.
- Keep adding water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough barely holds it's shape when you squeeze a handful together. It will probably still look quite dry, but that's ok.
- Shape the dough into a ~1" thick disk, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. This will help that water spread out and hydrate the rest of the dough.
- When it's time to use the crust, remove it from the fridge. If it's been refrigerating longer than 30 minutes (overnight is fine), let it rest for ~10 minutes at room temp before you attempt to roll it out, or it might be prone to cracking.
Filling
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together both sugars, flour, salt, and spices.
- In a smaller bowl or large measuring cup, beat together the eggs, pumpkin puree, and evaporated milk. Whisk this wet mix into the dry ingredients until homogenous. If you have the time, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it refrigerate overnight, this really helps build the flavor.
- Lightly grease a 9" pie pan, and make sure it's relatively deep (1 1/2"). Roll the dough out to a ~13" diameter circle and transfer to the pan. To do this most effectively, I try to roll the crust back up over the rolling pin, lift it up, and place it down onto the dish and then unroll it. Crimp the edges above the rim, this pie filling will rise quite a bit. This is also where you can use extra pie dough to cut out decorative shapes to add to the pie, I used an egg wash to help stick them to the crust. Once done, refrigerate the crust while preheating the oven to 400°F.
- Once the oven is preheated (I HIGHLY recommend waiting longer than when the oven tells you it's done, or use a separate oven thermometer. Making sure the temperature is accurate is very important!) Place the pie pan on a baking sheet, and then pour the filling into the pie crust.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is set 2" in from the edge. THE CENTER WILL STILL BE WIGGLY AND WILL LOOK UNCOOKED. This is normal, and if you wait until it's set all the way through it will overbake and crack. You want the center temperature to be ~175°F. Make sure to check regularly to see if the crust is getting to brown, and if it is then just cover the edges with tinfoil and pop it back in the oven.
- Once done, remove from the oven and let cool at room temp, and then refrigerate.
- Enjoy!
