Autumn Pumpkin Pie

Today was the perfect fall day, made for baking. Overcast, grey and absolutely perfect! We even had a pretty crazy wind/dust storm and some sprinkling of rain. My sort of heaven. :) With my toddler Eliana watching, always my little helper, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

My sister, Julez, had given me fresh pumpkin, that she had already sweetened and pureed for me. So, what else to make with it than some fresh, homemade Pumpkin Pie! I fell in love with baking pies, having made my first one this past summer. I decided to give this one a whirl. I found a recipe for a very delicious and creamy filling which I tweaked a bit. If you wish to see the original, use the following Pumpkin Pie recipe.

I already have a recipe for the most perfect crust, that's made from scratch. I'd say it's quite yummy. I had used it for peach pies during peach season and they were so delicious every time. And most importantly simple. You can prepare this pie crust the day before, to avoid the wait the day of baking.

It turned out so delicious, not overly sweet, creamy and worth sharing. I made the large pie for my husband to take to a potluck at work. I also made a tiny sample pie in a souffle bowl as well so we can do a taste test. I would say it turned out yummy. My husband nearly gobbled it up before Eliana spotted him eating and begged for some as well.

LILY'S PUMPKIN PIE

PIE CRUST:

1 3/4 cups Flour

3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, cold (1 1/2 sticks)

3 tablespoons Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

5-7 tablespoons Water, cold

PUMPKIN FILLING:

1 1/2  (8oz.) packages Cream Cheese, softened

3 1/2 cups Pumpkin, mashed (canned)

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Salt

2 Eggs + 4 Egg Yolks, whisked slightly

1 cup Half and Half or Whipping Cream

1/2 cup Butter, melted (1 stick)

1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1. Begin with making the pie dough. In a medium mixing bowl, pour in flour. Cube in cold butter. Combine the flour and butter with your hands, until the texture is crumbly and fine.

2. Add in sugar and salt into the crumbly flour and mix lightly.

3. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, while mixing with your hands. Lightly knead the dough into a soft but firm ball. Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface.

4. Use a pin to roll it out into a round crust that is big enough to drape over the pie pan. I use a large 11 1/2 inch ceramic pan.

5. Drape the dough over the pan, making sure that it covers the full inside of the pan.

6. Press and flatten the edges of the crust against the rim of the pan. Take a knife and cut the excess off. Another option would be to fold the excess edges underneath, along the rim of the pan, which would make the edges a bit thicker (I'll be doing that next time so the edges of the crust don't crack while baking, due to being too thin).

7. Crimp and shape the edge of the pie crust using two hands. Using your thumb on one hand and two fingers on your opposite hand, lightly squish the edges in all around the pan. (The following pictures show each hand separately, but you would do it simultaneously.)

8. Place the prepared pie crust into the freezer to chill for 1 hour. This is where making it the night before would come in handy so you don't have to wait. You want it to be chilled at least an hour in order to avoid shrinking as much when you pre-bake the crust.

While we waited, I gave Eliana her first bit of dough to play with. She of course had to shred the dough... but hey! even with teething, she only tried to eat it a few times. We played for a little while making balls and placing them in her measuring cup. We both had so much fun! Such joy in the simple things. And how perfectly adorable are her pudgy little fingers? I just melt.

9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

10. Take the firm and chilled pie crust out of the freezer. Cover the pie crust shell completely with aluminum foil. You can use parchment paper to line the dough as well. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans to weigh the crust down and keep it from bubbling up while baking.

11. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until the pie crust is dried out and turned lightly golden.

12. While baking the crust, begin mixing the pumpkin filling. (I use a Kitchen Aid Mixer) In a large mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. If you didn't have time to soften yours, you can slice it and soften for 30-60 seconds in the microwave as a last resort.

13. Add the mashed pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt and mix some more. Since mine was already prepped, I just poured my sweetened pumpkin into the cream cheese.

14. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, whipping cream and melted butter. Take a whisk and mix together. Add to the cream cheese and pumpkin. Beat with the mixer until combined.

15. Finally, add the vanilla and cinnamon and mix until combined. The filling is ready.

16. Once the pie crust is done baking and golden, pour the filling into the warm crust and bake for 50 minutes or until the center is set. While the pie is baking, if you notice the edges of the crust are getting browned too quickly, cover the edges with foil.

 17. Carefully take out the pie and cool to room temperature. Usually takes several hours or longer.

18. After the pie is completely cooled, you can refrigerate it, depending on your preference, you can serve it at room temperature as well. Slice the pie and top with whipped cream. My husband prefers it that way.

 10/15/2014