I know pumpkin pie recipes are a dime a dozen these days, what with it creeping closer to Thanksgiving here in the States and all, but I wouldn’t be any kind of friend if I didn’t share my personal favorite recipe. I’ve been tweaking it over the years but the last time I made it a few weeks ago, we pretty much all declared it in the category of: perfected (or in other words, don’t keep messing with a good thing).

It’s creamy, lightly sweet, perfectly spiced, and well, it’s just my favorite pumpkin pie recipe.

In the interest of full disclosure, pumpkin pie isn’t really the food of my dreams (like, I don’t crave it in March and would probably rather have a decadent chocolate pie or maybe even banana cream pie any other time of the year) but when it comes to Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie better be there. And it better be good.

And, since I now have pie on the brain, here are a few of my other much-loved pie recipes:

Banoffee Pie
Toffee Crumble Caramel Apple Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie
Sour Cream Lime Tart {or Pie}

In other news, stay tuned tomorrow for a life changing Thanksgiving recipe that totally took me by surprise (as in, I had no plans to post a recipe like this but couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t).

One Year Ago: Smoky Corn Chowder
Two Years Ago: Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes {My New Favorite Breakfast!}
Three Years Ago: New York-Style Crumb Cake

Yield: Makes a 9-inch pie

Classic Pumpkin Pie

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Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 single crust pie shell for a 9-inch pie plate (this is my favorite pie crust recipe)

Filling:

• 2 cups (or 15-ounce can) pumpkin puree (see note)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch of cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk or half-and-half

Directions:

1. Roll out the pie crust (see this post for a step-by-step) and gently place it into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming and fluting the edges. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (or up to a day or so).
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line the crust with foil and pour in dried beans or pie weights (I’ve even used wheat berries) until completely full. Bake the pie crust for 15 minutes. Gently remove the foil and weights (or beans) and bake another 10 minutes until the dough no longer looks raw on the bottom. Remove from the oven while preparing the filling.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugars, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and vanilla until well-combined. Add the eggs, cream and milk and whisk until smooth (don’t overmix or the pie will have a tendency to crack).
4. Place the pie shell on a baking sheet and pour the filling into the warm pie shell.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, without removing the pie, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 45-55 minutes longer until the pie is set and golden on top. If the crust starts to overbrown, cover it with foil strips or a pie shield partway through baking.
6. Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

Notes:

I like to prebake the pie crust; it helps eliminate some of the gummy bottom crust common in pumpkin pie but if that doesn’t bother you, you can forego that step and pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell. If you do that, still refrigerate the pie crust for an hour or so after placing it in the pan so it doesn’t shrink while baking.

Also, if you are using homemade pumpkin puree, make sure it is as smooth as possible (run it through a blender or food processor again).

All images and text ©Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe