Sandra Canfield asked: The smell of homemade pumpkin pie conjures images of family and celebration, gently seasoned with love, comfort and good cheer. It is the ubiquitous dessert of fall and harvest. Whether served warm or cold, home crust or pre-made, pumpkin pie completes a hearty, fall meal.
Many cooks are afraid to try homemade pie crust recipes, but really, they are quite simple. The most important thing to consider is your liquid and the actual heat of your oven. It is a good idea to keep a thermometer in your oven so you can monitor how hot you are actually cooking. Below is one of the simplest pie crust recipes:
Makes: 1 9-inch (4-cup volume)
1 cup all-purpose flour (Unbleached flour is great)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening or margarine
2 – 3 tablespoons cold water (cold is very important).
Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl; cut in vegetable shortening until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle with water a little at a time until just moist; blend until mixture holds together. Do not over mix or your crust will not be flaky.
Next, shape the dough into a ball; place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness and line pie plate with crust. Trim the edges leaving a 1-inch overhang to fold under and crimp.
If you are making two pies, double all above ingredients, follow the recipe above but divide the dough in half.
To make a truly delicious pumpkin pie, make the batter ahead, if you need a little extra time on the day of your big meal, but pour the batter into the pie shell just before baking. This will keep the crust crisp. Add a dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg to the top of your pie, but be careful as these are very potent spices. Be sure you follow the directions that say to begin with a high baking temperature, then reduce the heat part way through the baking. Failure to follow this step will result in a soggy, underdone crust.
Even a store-bought crust can be given a made-at-home flair by using interesting, decorative crust crimping. One of my favorites is to take pieces of left-over crust (after trimming) and fashion them into fall leave to decorate the edges or center of the pie.
There are a variety of pumpkin pie recipes and it is even possible to make a pumpkin pie using fresh pumpkin, however, canned pumpkin often yields more reliable results with less work. Following is a very easy recipe for you to follow:
Simple Pumpkin Pie
8 servings
Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar (you can substitute ½ cup sugar + ¼ cup brown sugar for a deeper flavor)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 can (15 ounces) packed (canned) pumpkin
1 can (12 fluid ounces) evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream or dessert topping.
1. Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Slowly stir in evaporated milk.
2. Pour mixture into prepared pie shell in pan.
Bake in preheated 425F oven 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F; bake 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
3. Cool on wire rack 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.
It is possible to substitute 1 ¼ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for the spices, but the taste is not quite the same.
If you choose to prepare homemade whipped cream (and you should), simply whip one small container of heavy whipping cream with ¼ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until firm. If you like, you can even add a dash of cinnamon to your whipped cream for an extra special flavor. Vanilla and whole bean vanilla ice cream is also delicious with a freshly baked pumpkin pie.
Jennifer
