Homemade Pumpkin Pie

A customer asked me to make a pumpkin pie for his wife's birthday-which happens to be on Halloween. The only requirement was that it be made from scratch...really from scratch! So I purchased a pie pumpkin and got to work. You can get pie pumpkins at almost any grocery store and they're usually no more than 90 cents a pound. Make sure that there are no soft spots and it should be about 6-8 inches high. Now it may seem like a daunting task to make a pumpkin pie from the gourd, but it's really not that hard with today's technology. Microwaves! This recipe only takes about 2 hours of your time...max! Good luck and happy Halloween everyone!

Ingredients:

Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold butter or margarine, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling
1 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
3 cups pumpkin
18 ounces evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Cut pumpkin in 1/2 or 1/4s. The fewer pieces you have the easier it will be to scoop out.

2. Place pieces flesh-side down in a micro-wave safe dish. Add a few inches of water.

3. Cook in microwave on high heat for 20 minutes. Check tenderness and cook in 5 minute increments until the flesh is soft enough to scoop out. Usually mine literally falls out of the shell after 25 minutes.

4. While the pumpkin is cooking make your pie crust. If you're short on time go ahead and buy a pre-made crust. Don't worry, I won't tell. Otherwise use the recipe here or your own family favorite. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in the butter and shortening until small clumps have formed.

5. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, with a fork until mixture starts to hold together.

6. Shape dough into a flat round shape so that it will be easier to roll out for your pie pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can chill overnight, but the next day you will need to let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before attempting to roll it out.

7. On a lightly floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, roll into slightly greater a circumference than your pie pan. Gently fold in half and place on half of pie pan, then unfold to cover the entire pan. Gently press the dough against the sides of the pan being sure not to stretch it. Stretching the dough will cause it to shrink back when baked. If desired make a decorative edge. For the pie shown here I used three small leaf shaped cookie cutters and then lightly brushed water over the edge of the pan and pressed the shapes down. Refrigerate or freeze for another 10 minutes. Preheat your oven to 425F.

8. Now you're going to scoop out the flesh put it in a food processor or use a hand blender if you have one to puree the pumpkin. This should create a nice creamy texture that's a little more watery than the stuff you get in a can.

9. Mix all of the ingredients listed for the filling together until combined.

10. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 425 for the first 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 350F and bake for another 45-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.


Tips:

To keep your crust from getting too dark, take a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the entire pie. Fold it in half once and then again the opposite direction. Now cut an 8" round from the middle. Unfold foil and place over pie and fold edges around pie to protect it.

If you have extra filling left over just bake the rest in a mini-muffin pan without the crust for a yummy treat!