Pumpkin Pie

OK, back to pie today!  The two other pies I make at Thanksgiving are pumpkin and pecan.  Today we’ll deal with pumpkin.  The pumpkin pie recipe is adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (a GREAT all-‘round cookbook if you’re looking for one – nice pictures, well laid-out, tasty, easy recipes).  So, like all ATK recipes, it’s got some funky steps – but let me tell you, I was not a big fan of pumpkin pie ‘til I had this one.  And my mother-in-law went crazy over it – I can’t remember if she says it’s the “best” she’s ever had, but this pie generates that level of enthusiasm.  So it’s worth the effort.   

For this pie, you’ll need one single pie crust – check out my post from the other day for the double crust recipe . . . just use one ball o’ dough and you’ll be all set!

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

 Blind-bake the pie crust at 375 degrees, for about 20-30 minutes (crust will look dry and slightly golden).  Remove the crust from the oven.  If it’s not already there, set your oven rack to the lower-middle position and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Note: the crust must be hot when the filling is added, so time this accordingly! 

While the crust bakes, process the pumpkin, brown sugar, spices and salt in a food processor until combined, about 1 minute.  Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.  Whisk in the cream and milk, return to a simmer briefly, and then remove from the heat.

Put the eggs in the food processor (don’t bother cleaning the bowl beforehand) and process them until beaten and uniform in color.  Keep the machine running and slowly add about half the hot pumpkin mixture through the feed tube.  Stop the machine, add the remaining pumpkin, and continue to process the mixture until uniform, about 30 seconds longer.

Dip you finger in to taste – it is SO tasty!  OK, enough.

Pour the warm filling into the hot, blind-baked crust.  If you have extra filling, ladle it into the pie after it’s baked for about 5 minutes (your filling will settle a little bit in that time).  Bake until the filling is puffy and lightly cracked around the edges, and the center of the pie wiggles like Jell-O, about 25 minutes.  Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool until warm or room temp. before serving.

You can make this pie ahead of time!  Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to 2 days . . . .

© 2009, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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