Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is Fall and Thanksgiving in your mouth.  I love the warm cinnamon smell, the rich pumpkin taste, and the custard like consistency.  Shout out to Amber for giving me her crust recipe.  I hope you enjoy!

Makes 1 pie

Ingredients

Crust:

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup butter flavored shortening

6 tbsp (or so) cold water

Put flour and salt in a bowl.  Cut in shortening using a pastry cutter, fingers, or a food processor.  Add water until the dough forms a ball.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  Roll out dough (See step by step visuals for rolling out the crust below).  Form in pie plate and place in freezer to firm up.  Meanwhile, using off-cuts, you can cut out leaf shapes with small cutters if you’d like.  I think it looks festive and beautiful.

Cover bottom with aluminum foil, add pie weights, brush with egg, and blind bake shell at 475 for 8 minutes.  Immediately brush crust again with egg yolk and allow to cool before adding the pumpkin filling. 

Roll out dough

Lay in pie plate and crimp edges

Using off-cuts, cut out leaf shapes

Brush with beaten egg yolk (use a splash of water to loosen up)

Blind bake crust so that you dont get a soggy bottom (no one likes a soggy bottom...)



Filling:

One 15-ounce can unsweetened pure pumpkin puree (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, or to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 475, when done pre-heating cook pie shell until brown.

Decrease oven to 350

While the pie shell is cooling make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, cream, spices, and salt until smooth. Return the pie shell to the baking sheet and pour in the filling.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges of the filling are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 50 to 60 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil.)  Cool.

See easy as pie!  I love this stuff…

Topping:  Rum spiked whipped cream

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp rum

2 cups heavy cream

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and rum in mixing bowl. Using whisk attachment, mix on medium speed until smooth. While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak.   You can be fancy and pipe the whipped cream on or dollop it on.  Eiher way it will be delish!