BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS PUMPKIN PIE

I never tire of trying new pumpkin pie recipes.  This one is from Better Homes and Gardens November 2010 issue.  BHG included a recipe for Hazelnut Mousse to be used as the pie topping, which I didn’t make this time.  The pie, itself, is spiced and sweetened nicely.  The recipe recommends prebaking the crust, but I opted not to do that, since  I’ve had good luck in the past without prebaking.  But I was using my new Emile Henry pie dish for this pie.    The bottom crust was a little underbaked, so I think I’ll stick to Pyrex for pumpkin pies.  I’m going to include recipe instructions for prebaking the crust and you can decide if you want to skip that step.

I subbed 1/2 cup baked sweet potato for some of the pumpkin to give the pie more flavor, reduced the brown sugar by about 2 Tbsp. and subbed half and half for the milk.  The recipe didn’t specify what kind of brown sugar, so I used dark brown.  I tasted the molasses overtones in the finished pie and wished I had used light brown sugar, so I’m specifying that in the recipe below.  The pie’s texture and flavor were really good, but my #1 pumpkin pie recipe is still the Traditional Pumpkin Pie I made for Thanksgiving 2009. 
My rating for the pie is based on the assumption that the pie crust is cooked all the way through and is not underdone on the bottom, something that I think detracts from a pumpkin pie.  If I had followed the directions (or used my Pyrex pie plate), it would have been cooked properly.

Better Homes and Gardens Pumpkin Pie, Adapted Rating:  9 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: Your favorite pie pastry for a 9” pie 3/4 cup pumpkin, cooked or canned 1/2 cup baked or canned sweet potato 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1-1/4 tsp. powdered ginger 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/8 tsp. ground cloves 1/4 tsp. sea salt 2 large eggs 2/3 cup + 1/4 cup half and half 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract Garnish:  Sweetened whipped cream, toasted walnuts or pecans, caramel sauce Preheat oven to 350F.  Roll out pastry, flouring work surface and rolling pin as needed, to a circle about 12” in diameter.  Transfer to a 9” pie tin or plate without stretching.  Trim pastry to 1/2” beyond edge of pie plate.  Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edge as desired.  Prick bottom and sides of pastry with a fork. Place in freezer 10 minutes.  Line pastry with foil pie pan, fill with dried beans or pie weights.  Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake 30 minutes.  Carefully remove foil pie pan.  Bake 5 minutes more.  Cool on wire rack.  (If using rolled refrigerated crust, bake according to package directions.) In a saucepan, combine pumpkin, sweet potato, sugar, spices and salt.  Cook and stir over medium heat 4-5 minutes to integrate flavors.    Transfer to work bowl of a food processor and pulse till smooth.  Add eggs, half and half, cream and vanilla.  Pulse again till smooth.  Pour into crust.  (Pictured below is an 8” Emile Henry pie plate, which holds the same volume as a standard 9” pie plate.)    Bake for 50 minutes or till center is set.  Cool on wire rack 1  hour.  Refrigerate.  Serve with sweetened whipped cream.  Garnish with toasted walnuts or pecans and drizzle with caramel sauce, if desired.

TRADITIONAL PUMPKIN PIE

There is something to be said for Pillsbury pie crusts. They’re easy, quick, convenient and virtually fool-proof. Those thoughts were running through my head as my Thanksgiving piecrust got ruined. I prepared the dough for flaky cream cheese pie crust and froze it several days ago, but forgot to take it out of the freezer the night before. If it had thawed in the fridge overnight, I might not have had a problem. Instead, I tried to quick-thaw it on the counter and probably left it out too long. When I tried to prebake my pie shell, I wound up with a shrunken, tough mess that went into the trash.
Plan B was a quick butter pie crust, thrown into the fridge for an hour to cure. I like to let pie crusts cure overnight in the fridge, but there was no time. And this crust did not get prebaked. Instead, I lowered the oven rack to its lowest position and placed my pizza stone on it, preheated the oven to 400F for a half hour, and then placed the filled pie on tinfoil on the stone. Of course, to complete my day, the pie cracked in a very unappetizing manner…… Deep cracks…… I guess this is my humble pie.

The pie filling recipe, found on recipetips.com, was tweaked to my liking. I wanted to taste the pumpkin, not spices and sugar, and I liked the spices in this recipe. I just decreased the nutmeg by 1/8 teaspoon. I cut the sugar and corn syrup a bit, used dark corn syrup instead of light, subbed milk for 2/3 of the cream and added melted butter. The filling calls for 1-1/2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree, but I’m sure that canned pumpkin can be used. I used 1 cup of Hubbard squash, 1/2 c of butternut squash and 1/2 cup of sweet potato. After pureeing and draining, it came to 1-1/2 cups. Draining the squash is an integral part of this recipe, so I didn’t want to skip it. If you opt to use canned pumpkin, you might still want to drain it to get the excess water out. The filling for this pie fits perfectly into a 9” pie plate with no leftovers.
I am still thankful at Thanksgiving time. I’m thankful that the pie, although ugly, is still edible and that I have people to share it with. Sometimes it’s the little things……

UPDATE: The pie was fantastic! Guy said it was the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever made. It was very light, yet rich and creamy with just enough sweetness and subtle spices that perfectly complemented the mix of squashes and sweet potato. An ugly duckling for sure, but still a winner. The crust was as ugly as the filling. It broke if you looked at it, but it was absolutely delicious – buttery, tender, flaky and perfect with the pie. Oh, and best yet – the crust was cooked through. Using the bottom rack of the oven and a pizza stone that’s preheated definitely makes a difference in the pie crust.

TRADITIONAL PUMPKIN PIE Adapted from recipetips.com Printable Recipe Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 1-1/2 cups cooked butternut and hubbard squashes or canned pumpkin 1/2 cup cooked or canned sweet potatoes 1/4 cup brown sugar (I used 1 Tbsp. NuNaturals Stevia + 1/2 tsp. molasses) 1/2 tsp. sea salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. ginger 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (I used 1/8 tsp.) 1 Tbsp. melted butter 1/3 cup dark corn syrup 1 Tbsp. flour 1 cup 2% milk 1/2 cup heavy cream 3 large eggs 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract Puree squashes (or pumpkin) and sweet potato in work bowl of food processor or blender.  Drain overnight.* (See note below) Place pizza stone or quarry tiles on bottom rack of oven, in lowest position. Heat oven to 400F about 15-30 minutes before you plan to bake the pie. Fit a 9” pie plate with your favorite pie crust and refrigerate. In work bowl of food processor or in blender, combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, butter and corn syrup. Pulse till very smooth and no lumps remain. Add remaining ingredients and pulse again till very smooth, scraping sides and bottom if needed. Remove pie crust from fridge; put a sheet of tinfoil underneath pie plate, then pour filling into prepared crust. Place pie and tinfoil on pizza stone. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes, then, without opening oven door, lower temperature to 325F and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, or till filling is slightly puffed up around edges and pie crust is nicely browned. (Filling will be jiggly in center but will continue to cook as it cools.) Transfer pie to wire rack to cool, then refrigerate overnight, covered. Serve chilled pie with ice cream or whipped cream. (A very nice spiced whipped cream topping can be made by whipping heavy cream with a little cinnamon, ginger, vanilla extract, and some dark corn syrup. Taste it and make it to your taste preference. I also made some leaves with the extra pie dough, rolled them in sugar instead of flour and baked them separately. I added them on the whipped cream as a garnish – see top photo. ) *You can drain pumpkin puree by placing a large coffee filter in a strainer, then putting the puree into that over a bowl. The liquid will drip through. This will take several hours, or place it, covered, overnight in the fridge. You will have to press it a bit to get all the liquid out.

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED 2008 PUMPKIN PIE, ADAPTED

In November 2008, CI updated its pumpkin pie recipe. They found, through trial and error, that adding some sweet potatoes and maple syrup to the filling and cooking it with the spices and sugar before baking it in the pie crust gave the pie more depth of taste. They also liked fresh ginger as opposed to dry ginger. And where they came up with whole eggs + yolks is a mystery. (If I make this pie again, I will just use two eggs.) Usually, CI is a dependable source for good recipes. Their
vodka pie crust is absolutely phenomenal and one that will now be a standard in my house. But I had to add spices and flavoring to the pumpkin pie filling. I tasted the filling before it went into the Cuisinart, after cooking it for a while, and it was very good. But after I added the cream and milk, it seemed bland. So I added more ginger and cinnamon, then I added cloves and allspice, then I added rum, and finally it was tasting like a pumpkin pie should. The texture of the pie is great, and it's just sweet enough. But IMHO, CI did not flavor the pie correctly; and it needed just a touch of cloves and allspice to wake it up but not overpower it. (I know this is very subjective; everyone has his own idea of what a pumpkin pie should taste like. While I don't care for a pie that is overwhelmed with spices, I do like to taste some spice in the filling.) The rum just completes the flavor. (If you don't cook with alcohol, I don't have a substitute for you. Just leave the rum out and have a little less flavor.)

Cook's Illustrated 2008 Pumpkin Pie, Adapted
Rating: 8 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh roasted) (I used fresh-roasted pumpkin)
1/2 cup drained canned yams, or 1/2 cup fresh-roasted sweet potatoes (I used the latter)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1-1/4 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
Big pinch powdered cloves
Big pinch powdered allspice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup milk, divided use
1-1/2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk (Or just use 2 large eggs.)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. Barbados rum (or any other good rum that you have)



Preheat oven to 400F. Prebake pie crust and transfer to a wire rack. While crust is baking, start the pumpkin filling: In a 2-quart heavy pot, cook first 10 ingredients (pumpkin, potatoes, sugar, maple syrup, spices and salt) over medium heat. Bring to a sputtering simmer and cook 5-7 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, 10-15 minutes, while mashing any lumps against side of pot. Transfer mixture to work bowl of a food processor and puree with 1/2 cup of milk. Add eggs, one at a time and pulse to combine each. Transfer mixture back to pot, add remaining ingredients (1/2 cup milk, heavy cream, vanilla, & rum) and stir to combine. (I did this on the cooktop, with stove turned to medium.) Pour hot mixture into warm crust and place on baking sheet on bottom rack of oven, at the lowest setting. Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 325F and bake about 25-35 minutes longer, or till pie is just barely set. (I watch the pie puff up, starting at the edges and working towards the center. When everything but 2" or so of the center is puffed up, and the pie just jiggles slightly, take it out.) Cool at room temperature 2-3 hours, then refrigerate. Serve with rum whipped cream, if desired. Yield: one 9" pie, about 8 servings

GREAT PUMPKIN PIE

Rose Levy Beranbaum is one of the goddesses of bakedom. Her recipes and techniques are not only legendary, but are accompanied by explanations of why certain processes work and others don't. This is her recipe, and I found it on epicurious.com. I chose this over hundreds of others for the following reasons: 1) Instead of prebaking the pie shell, Rose sprinkles a mixture of crushed gingersnaps and ground pecans on the bottom of the raw dough. She calls it a crunchy bottom crust (it's not crunchy; the cookies and pecans absorb excess liquid from the filling.)

2) Rose precooks the pumpkin to intensify the flavors. 3)She purees the cooked pumpkin in a food processor to produce a silky texture. I was a little nervous about using her spices -- Rose calls for 2 tsp. ground ginger and 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon. I changed it to 1 tsp. ginger, 2 tsp. cinnamon. I added a pinch of cloves and a pinch of allspice. I also reduced her 1/2 tsp. salt to 1/4 tsp. Instead of the 2/3 cup milk in her recipe, I used 1/2 cup fat-free Half and Half + 3 Tbsp. Jim Beam brandy. She uses canned pumpkin, stating that the texture and flavor are more consistent than fresh, but I always use fresh. I like her method of baking the pie on a stone in a preheated oven at the bottom of the oven to produce a crisp and brown crust. She says to bake the pie for 50-60 minutes, and I checked for doneness at 50 minutes. The pie was done. In fact I thought it was too done. It cracked all around the edges. Next time I bake it, I will check for doneness at 40 minutes, and you should, too. Any cracks in pumpkin pie can easily be covered with whipped cream.

There was one little glitch: I made two pastry doughs: one for the pumpkin pie, and one for the apple crostada. Unfortunately, I got them mixed up, and used the crostada dough for the pumpkin pie. The crostada dough was a puff pastry which is definitely the wrong pastry for a pumpkin pie. It doesn't keep well. By the time I discovered I had the wrong dough, it was too late to change it and too late to make another dough. Remarkably, our hosts raved, not only about the pie (declaring it the best pumpkin pie they ever ate!), but also about the crust. It wasn't my favorite for a pumpkin pie crust but they thought it was great.

This pie is silky and has a wonderful flavor from the ginger and cinnamon. I am now happy that I lost the cookbook with my old standby pumpkin pie recipe. This recipe is definitely better. One thing I never did before was to precook the pumpkin, and it really does make a difference.

Great Pumpkin Pie

INGREDIENTS: 1 pie crust for a 9-inch pie

4 (2-inch) gingersnaps

1/4 cup pecan halves

2 cups fresh cooked pumpkin, or one 15-oz. can unsweetened pumpkin

1/2 cup white sugar + 1 tsp. molasses + 1/2 Tbsp. Stevia Plus

OR just use 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar if you prefer

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground allspice

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup Land-of-Lakes fat-free Half and Half

3 Tbsp. brandy

2/3 cup heavy cream

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: Roll out pie crust to fit a 9" deep dish pie pan. Process the gingersnaps and

pecans in a food processor or blender till they are fine crumbs. Sprinkle them over the bottom of the pie crust, and, using your fingers and the back of a spoon, press them into the dough to coat the entire bottom, going about 1/2 inch up the sides. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 24 hours if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F at least 20 minutes before baking. Plan to bake directly on the floor of the oven, or set an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or cookie sheet on it before preheating. (I used a pizza stone on the lowest shelf.)

Make the pumpkin filling: In a small heavy saucepan (I used a 2-quart), stir together the pumpkin, sugar, molasses, Stevia Plus (or brown sugar), spices and salt. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a sputtering simmer, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-5 minutes, or until thick and shiny. Scrape the mixture into a food processor and process for 1 minute, or till smooth. With the motor on, add the Half and Half, brandy and cream, processing until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the work bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, processing just to incorporate, about 5 seconds after each addition; add the vanilla along with the last egg. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake for 50-60 minutes or just until a knife inserted between the sides and center comes out almost clean. (Start checking for doneness at 40 minutes.) The filling will have puffed and the surface dulled, except for the center. The filling will shake like jelly when moved. This will happen before it has finished baking, so it cannot be used as a firm indication of doneness; conversely, if it does not have this jell-like consistency, you can be sure that it is not baked adequately. If the crust appears to be darkening too much on the bottom, raise the pie to the next rack. After 30 minutes, you may need to protect the edges with a foil ring.

Place the baked pie on a rack to completely cool before refrigerating. When cool, the surface will be flat. Characteristic star-burst cracking is the result of overbaking. Serve this pie with ginger cream topping (see post under Frostings and Toppings.)