Pumpkin Pie

The wind is howling and leaves are swirling through the air. It is definitely autumn here in New Jersey, and not a moment too soon. For whatever reason, I feel very comfortable in weather like this, even when I'm not outside in it. Now that things like sugar pumpkins, apples, and cider are in season, I've been trying to get as much out of it as I can. This weekend, Alex and I took a short trip up to New Paltz to pick up a half bushel of Ida Red apples, apple cider, and cider doughnuts from Jenkins-Lueken Orchards, and some New York maple syrup from Oliverea Schoolhouse Maple at the farmer's market! We drove up to an outlook to take in the view before we left.

We'll be busy working our way through all that the next few weeks!

I also made a pumpkin pie this weekend, as you can see. I've made and blogged about this recipe before, though those pictures never did justice to the Tigger-Proof Pumpkin Pie. I have been meaning to update it for a while, because it's a pie you all really need to make. Typically, I use canned pumpkin. This time, I roasted a sugar pumpkin and pureed the pulp (not a difficult feat at all). Boy, I'll tell you, it tastes even better than I remembered, and it's all because of the fresh pumpkin puree. I don't mind using canned at all for things like muffins and breads, but when it's in a dessert where the filling is in the forefront, taking a little extra time to prep your own puree takes it to a whole other level. I ended up with extra puree that I'll likely use for muffins, if I can't think of a better pumpkin dessert. (There is a pumpkin yeast bread from Baking with Julia I've been eying for a while now.)

Pro tip: After pureeing pumpkin, place in a fine mesh sieve to allow the excess liquid to drain.

The ingredients for this pie consist of the pumpkin puree (fresh or canned), spices (a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves), eggs, and three types of sugar: sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, and white sugar. Anyone who knows anything about the 100 Acre Woods knows that condensed milk is one of the main food groups, second only to honey. Not shown is the blind-baked pie crust.

Whisk filling together.

Pour into prepared pie crust and bake.

What you see here is a mighty fine piece of pumpkin pie. The filling is smooth and custardy, the crust is perfectly browned on the bottom, and now I get to enjoy some pie for the next couple of days while listening to the howling wind outside.

---

Print this recipe

Tigger-Proof Pumpkin Pie
From The Little Big Book of Pooh by Monique Peterson
(Personal notes: I used a different dough recipe that is actually quite similar to this recipe - chill before rolling, chill before baking - and I opted to pre-bake the crust for 15 minutes)

For crust -

1 1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons ice water

For pie -

1 1/2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. To make crust, sift together dry ingredients. Using pastry blender or processor, cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle water over dough and mix with fork until pastry is moist enough to form into a ball.
3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14" round circle. Transfer and press into 9" pie pan. Trim overhand and crimp edges. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes.
4. To make the pumpkin filling, whisk all the pie ingredients together in a large bowl until blended. Pour into the prepared crust.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Serve with whipped cream!