Pumpkin Pie

Every Thanksgiving, I make a pumpkin pie and think to myself, why don’t I make this more often?  Pumpkin pie is perfectly rich, creamy, spicy and sweet; it’s got great balance and beats out most pies in the taste department.  I love this pie for breakfast, cold, with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and a hot cup of coffee.  You just can’t get much better than that.

I typically make this pie from scratch, using a freshly roasted pie pumpkin (a.k.a sugar pumpkin), but canned pumpkin works just as well. If you decide to roast a fresh pumpkin, make sure to use a small, sweet pie pumpkin. Large jack-o-lantern pumpkins are for carving and not eating; their flesh is not as sweet and tends to be too watery and too stringy to make into a decent pie. Instead, stick to pie pumpkin varieties such as Baby Bear, Spooky, Small Sugar, Early Sweet Sugar Pie, Orange Smoothie, etc. Most pie pumpkins are on the smaller side. I look for one that’s around 7-8 inches in diameter. It will yield about 5 cups of roasted pumpkin flesh, plenty for making a couple of pies. 

Roasting a pumpkin is just like roasting any other winter squash. Carefully cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, drizzle the pumpkin inside and out with a little olive oil, and place, cut-side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pierce the skin side of the pumpkin halves a few times with a fork to allow steam to escape while roasting.  Roast the pumpkin halves at 400 deg F for about 40 minutes, or until the pumpkin gives easily when you push on it. Let the pumpkin cool completely before scooping the flesh from the skin.  

Don’t toss those seeds! The bonus with roasting your own pumpkin is that you get to roast and snack on the pumpkin seeds while the rest of the pie comes together. Here’s a quick recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds. 

For this pie, you can use either a store-bought pie shell, or make one using my all butter or oil pie crust recipe.  Either way, you will want to blind bake your pie shell before filling it.  This will ensure that the bottom of your pie crust does not come out soggy.  To blind bake your pie shell, prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork, then place a piece of parchment paper over top of the raw pie shell.  Weigh down the parchment paper with pie weights or dried beans, covering the bottom of the pie so that it does not puff up during blind baking.  Bake the pie crust at 325 deg F for 15 minutes.  Take the pie shell out of the oven.  Carefully remove the beans or pie weights and parchment paper and fill the shell with pie filling.  Note: If using dried beans for this process, save the beans for your next blind bake.  Do not try to use these beans in a recipe.  These beans have officially become your pie weights and should be used for nothing else.

To make the pumpkin pie filling, mix 2 eggs and ½ cup of sugar in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 cups of pumpkin purée, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and mix until incorporated.  To catch any  potential drips, place your unbaked pie on a sheet pan lined with parchment before putting it into the oven to bake. Bake the pie at 375 deg F for 50-60 minutes. Let the pie cool completely before cutting and serving. This pie is wonderful all by itself, but is fantastic with fresh whipped cream, spiced with cinnamon.   Enjoy and happy holidays!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Pumpkin Pie

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 8 slices

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 pie shell
• cinnamon whipped cream (optional)

Instructions

• Blind bake your pie shell at 325°F for 15 minutes and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin puree, heavy cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and kosher salt and mix until well incorporated and smooth.
• Pour filling into pie shell and bake pie at 375°F for 50-60 minutes.
• Let the pie cool completely before cutting and serving. This pie is delicious with a dollop of fresh cinnamon whipped cream.
• To make the whipped cream, simply whisk 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar with a handheld mixer or standing mixer until cream is light and fluffy.
• Enjoy!