Pumpkin Pie From Scratch

And I mean REALLY from scratch!  From a real pumpkin…not a can.  It’s easier than you think and so worth the effort.

Here we go!

A 6-8 inch pie pumpkin will yield a nine-inch deep dish pie. Most grocery stores carry pie pumpkins in the fall.  They are smaller and sweeter than regular pumpkins.

Wash and dry the pumpkin and cut it in half.  Scoop out the seeds and scrape the insides clean.  An ice cream scoop works great to get all the stringy insides scraped off.

The next step is to cook the pumpkin.  Many people just microwave it, but I avoid microwaving if at all possible, so prefer to bake it.  Cover the prepared pumpkin in an oven-proof baking dish.  Add about three cups of water to keep it moist.  Bake at 350 until soft – about an hour.

Scoop out the cooked pumpkin and puree in a food processor or blender.  The pumpkin is now prepared for the rest of the pie making.

Make your pie crust:

1.5 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup cold water

3/4 to 1 cup butter

Combine the flour and butter well.  Sprinkle in only enough water necessary to make a rollable dough.  Roll the dough out evenly until it is about an inch larger than your pie dish.  Place into your dish and flute the edges to make them pretty.  I usually just do a pinched edge, but you can get fancy here if you wish.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Time to make the filling:

1 cup honey

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon each cloves and allspice

.5 teaspoon ginger

4 eggs

3 cups cooked pumpkin

8 ounces rich milk

Mix until light and fluffy.  Pour into pie crust.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temp to 350 and bake for another 45-60 minutes – until firm and set.  Let cool.  I top mine with real whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon.

Serve warm or cool.

Technorati Tags: from scratch, pie pumpkin, pumpkin pie