We just had Thanksgiving in Canada this past weekend.
I was not in charge of pie, and a new `style` of pumpkin pie was made.
It was...not so good.
Needless to say, no one had pumpkin pie (that they enjoyed)
My nephew was the most upset by this, so yesterday, I made him one.
From scratch!
step 1:
bake one cut and cleaned out sugar pumpkin in the oven till soft.
I did 350 for about 2 hours - my pumpkin was a bit bigger than some.
Once it`s cooled, remove the skin and whiz the pumpkin in a food processor till smooth.
This is where I have to say how very lovely the pumpkin is compared to that from a can.
Huge difference. But hey, I still use the stuff from a can too. Do what you can, if you have the time, give it a try. Plus, you can freeze it for later use. I got about 6 cups from my pumpkin.
In the end you want two cups - or 500 mls of creamy pumpkin set aside.
whisk together in a small bowl:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp of salt
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
I made my own pumpkin pie spice.
Truth be told, it was because I was out and didn`t want to go to the store.
It`s easy to make, so if you are out too:
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cloves
mix together and keep in sealed jar for the holidays.
back to the pie...
Add your two cups of puréed pumpkin to the egg/sugar mixture and blend well.
Now..secret ingredient time...
Or should I say`magic ingredient`
(clearly this is not a secret as they have it written on the can)
But any ways, add one can of eagle brand sweetened condensed milk to your filling.
lick spoon.
lick can.
wish you bought two cans so you can have more.
Pour your mixture into a nine inch pie plate with an unbaked pastry shell.
I`m not going to overwhelm you with making the pastry too - plus, I`m not allowed to share that recipe as it`s in the cookbook coming out this spring. But I will share it then!
This recipe is large, so you can either make two pies, or do what I did...
..make mini pies.
I was lazy and so over this whole `pumpkin pie from scratch business` by this point, so I just grabbed chunks of dough and pressed them into a mini muffin pan to form little cups.
This made 12 mini pies - good for two bites.
I baked the mini pies and the large pie for 10 minutes at 450
then reduced the heat to 350.
I baked the mini pies for another 15 minutes
I baked the large pie for another 40 minutes - till a toothpick came out clean from the centre of the pie.
Nephew was very happy.
So was the rest of the family.
