My oh my! Pumpkin Pie!

Let’s face it, no Thanksgiving dinner table is set without a famous pumpkin pie waiting for us after our annual turkey feast. Pumpkin pie has been my favorite since I was a small boy from when I’d spend my days at my grandma's house. I was a creature of habit and every time she’d baby sit me she’d have a slice of pumpkin pie waiting for me after I finished my lunch. Grandpa was never too far to have a slice with us either! 26 years later not much has changed. Just last week I was visiting and had a bowl of clam chowder for lunch and a slice of pumpkin pie for desert. My Gram and I share a lot of things in common, our love for food being one of them -especially pumpkin pie.

Over the years we’d take note if ever we saw someone’s recipe for a pumpkin pie that was different than the family recipe. I’d make a pie from a new recipe and take a slice over to her or vice versa. Some we thought were good, others not so much – let me tell you it was not an easy job tasting all those pies….yeah you’re right – who am I kidding??? Anyhow we’ve taken inspiration from the outside and applied them to our recipe and the result is one darn good pumpkin pie!

Pie Crust

2 sticks of very cold butter

3 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

6 to 8 tablespoons of ice water

For the Filling

3 large eggs

2 egg yolks

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of heavy cream

1 cup of half and half

1 tablespoon of vanilla

½ teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

¼ teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg

14 oz canned pumpkin

1 large freshly baked yam

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Poke a few holes in the yam and place the yam on a baking tray with tin foil. Bake for an hour or until tender. Remove from the oven and let cool. The yam may seem odd in a pumpkin pie but it seems to make the pie more pumpkin-y!

While the yam is baking, we can prepare the pie dough. Yes you can use store bought ready pie crusts, I often do myself but sometimes it’s nice to have the whole thing made from scratch. If you have a food processor this step will be a lot easier and faster. Just add your flour, butter, salt, and sugar, and pulse until everything is blended and slowly add the vodka and ice water until your dough comes together. Don’t have a food processor? Me either but it’s still fast and easy. In a large mixing bowl - add the flour, salt, and sugar. Use a pastry cutter or a whisk to break up the butter into the flour. 

The flour should be coarse and the butter should be broken up into tiny pieces like in the picture. Add about 5 tablespoons of ice water. Actually use ice water here, I fill a small bowl with ice and pour water over and dip my tablespoon right in – very important that it’s cold.

I mix by hand here until the dough starts to form together into a ball. If the dough is still sticky and you need more water, add it a tablespoon at a time. Once the dough is ready it will form into a ball - cut the dough ball in half and roll them out with a floured rolling pin onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out so they fit into a 9 inch pie plate with enough dough that it hangs over the edges. Carefully press the dough along the sides and the bottoms and trim some of excess dough hanging off the edges. You can be all nice and fancy with the edges but I usually just leave it the way it is - I like my pies to look rustic. Place the pie dough in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Once the pie crusts have chilled, poke a few wholes on the bottom of the crust with a fork. This will help the steam escape when we par bake them. Bake the crusts at 375 for about 10 to 15 minutes and set aside while we prepare the filling.

Start the filling by whisking the eggs and egg yolks together with the heavy cream, half and half, and the vanilla in a large mixing bowl until they’re just combined. Scoop out the yam you baked early and mix that into the pumpkin, the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt – add this to the cream and eggs. Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and cook over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes mixing it the entire time. Make sure everything is nice and smooth. My gram and I found one recipe that said by cooking the pumpkin mixture a little bit before baking helped with the pies texture and prevented the pie from cracking while it bakes. It really does make a big difference.

Place the pie shells onto a large baking sheet. Pour the pumpkin mixture evenly into the two pie shells and bake for the first 10 minutes at 400 degrees and then lower the heat to 325 and bake for an additional 45 minutes to an hour. The pie is done when it holds firm when you lightly shake it and a knife comes out clean when you stick it in the center. Allow the pies to cool completely before serving. Fresh whipped cream never hurt anything here either!!