Pumpkin Pie
Just one more day until Thanksgiving! While my past couple posts have been more focused on parts of the main meal (Roast Turkey and Green Bean Casserole), surely you didn’t think that I would forget about the dessert. In keeping with my theme of the more simple yet traditional dishes, I decided on a festive and seasonal pumpkin pie. Because if one thing is true no matter how full I get after a holiday dinner I always seem to find just enough room for dessert. After all Thanksgiving is only once a year, right. I used Martha Stewart’s pumpkin pie recipe.
This seasonal pie has a sweet and creamy pumpkin based custard with hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger throughout. A true staple of the fall season and a perfect ending for a Thanksgiving feast!
Crust Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups of all -purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 11 tablespoons of unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 7 tablespoons of vegetable shortening, chilled and cubed
- 1/3 cup of ice cold water
To the flour mixture I cut in 11 tablespoons of unsalted butter and 7 tablespoons of vegetable shortening. I made sure that the butter and shortening were well incorporated and the mixture was crumbly.
I added 1/3 of a cup of cold water. I mixed until incorporated and the dough had formed.
Then on a lightly floured work surface I shaped the dough into a round and lightly flattened it. I wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and placed it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
After the hour was up I rolled out my dough onto a well floured surface and fit it into a 9 inch pie plate, with some overhang. I crimped an edge along the rim of the plate. Then I refrigerated the pie shell for 1 hour.
With 30 minutes left on the chill time I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.
Once the pie shell was finished chilling I removed it from the refrigerator and lined the dough with a large round of parchment paper. I made sure the parchment paper extended slightly over the rim of the pie plate.
To the parchment paper I added a even layer of dry beans to weight it down. I made sure the beans were packed snugly to the edges. Then I baked the crust on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes and until it was firm.
I carefully removed the parchment paper with the beans and allowed the crust to fully cool.
Once the crust was fully cooled I prepared the filling.
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cups of light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
- 1 15 ounce can of solid-pack pumpkin
- 1 cup half-and-half