When it comes to Thanksgiving deserts, I can't think of anything more iconic than the classic pumpkin pie. I'm going to show you my favorite pumpkin pie recipe and how to add your own fun touches to your design. Make sure you checkout my from scratch pie crust recipe here:
You know for someone who loves pumpkin so much, I never liked pumpkin pie growing up. Even in the GIF above, that crust just looks.... dry. I was talking with my husband as he was watching me type up these blogs and we agree that the crust is so important in the overall success of your pie. I highly, highly recommend you check out my pie crust recipe above and give it a try. It is light, flaky, buttery, and slightly sweet. It pairs perfectly with any pie recipe, but it really makes a difference in pumpkin pie. We joked about how some pies you just keep adding more and more whipped cream to try to salvage the slice and get it down. No more dull, dry, cardboard excuses for a pie crust. Your pie should be delicious - crust included.
Now, I'm still working on mastering the design element of pies. My pies do not look perfect, but they taste great! Whenever my mom "messed up" the presentation of a dish, she would say, "It might not look pretty, but it tastes good!" And I've just kind of come to terms with this concept over my lifetime. As long as it tastes good, that's all that really matters. So don't worry about the way it looks too much. Practice makes perfect and it is definitely a learning process. I only make about 4 pies a year, and I just started making pies about 3 years ago...
Give yourself some grace and know that it will get better. Just have fun with decorating and designing your pie; that is half of the fun!
Gather all of your ingredients: Homemade pie crusts, canned pumpkin puree, eggs, light brown sugar, cornstarch, heavy whipping cream, whole milk, salt, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg.
After your pie crusts have chilled in the refrigerator for about two hours, take them out and roll them on a floured mat to create a 12 inch pie crust. Turn your dough about a quarter turn every few rolls to get a nice even layer.
I used a pizza cutter to cut along the 12 inch circle on this fondant mat to create a "perfect" circle. Use a deep 9 inch pie dish for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray your dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place the rolled out dough into the dish and gently push against the bottom and the sides.
Use a fork to prick some holes along the bottom of the crust to prevent bubbling. Grab some parchment paper and some weights to blind bake the pie crust.
It helps if you crumple up the parchment paper and cut off the large excess corners of paper. Place the paper on top of the bottom crust and then place either pie weights, dried beans, or dry rice to weight the pie.
Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove the parchment paper and weights.
While the crust is blind baking, prepare the star of the show - the pumpkin filling. Whisk the eggs and pumpkin puree together well. Next add your ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, salt, brown sugar, cornstarch, cream and milk.
Whisk fairly aggressively to combine all ingredients. Continue to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure that all ingredients combine well. Your filling should lighten in color and thin out a bit when you're finished.
Pour the filling into the partially baked pie crust about 3/4 of the way full. The pie will bloom as it cooks and you don't want it to overflow.
Cook the pie for 50-60 minutes, checking every few minutes at the end to avoid overcooking the pie and potentially cracking the center.
Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack and set for at least 3 hours before serving. You can serve this pie with whipped cream, sugared cranberries or another piece of thanksgiving pie...
I used the remaining pie crust to make some cute leaf shapes to decorate the pie top. I found these leaf cookie cutters at Michaels or A.C. Moore. Place your leaf cut outs on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.
I wish mine had come out a little bit darker in color, but I think if you did a nice egg wash it would help with the richness of the color and will help it match the rest of the pie better.
Once the pie cools, decorate with any leaf cutout shapes or sugared cranberries you'd like. Get creative and have fun! Don't worry so much about perfection and just explore different ways to make pie. Plus its extremely delicious! You will definitely go back for seconds with this one.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and that you add it to your yearly tradition for Thanksgiving treats. Make sure you share this blog on your social pages if you love it and tell a friend about
Just A Struggle Bus Mom.
I always love hearing from you all; tell me what you'd like to see next! Until next time friends... Happy Thanksgiving!
Traditional Pumpkin Pie Recipe:
Homemade pie crusts
15oz can pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup whole milk
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a deep 9 inch pie dish with a noncooking spray. Roll out the homemade pie crust to a 12 inch circle. Gently press into the bottom and sides of the pie dish, trimming any excess edges off with a sharp knife. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the pie crust to prevent bubbling.
Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the bottom crust and fill with pie weights. If you do not have pie weights, use dried beans or dry rice as a substitute. Blind bake the pie for 10 minutes. Carefully remove pie weights and parchment paper.
Pour pumpkin filling into the partially baked pie, 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 50-60 minutes, checking at 50, 55 and then 60 minutes to ensure doneness. Be careful not to over cook the pie as this can lead to a crack forming in the center as it cools.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely. Let the pie set for at least 3 hours before serving. Serve with whipped cream, sugared cranberries, or your favorite topping.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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