A Complete Guide to Baking A Perfect Pumpkin Pie

The holidays are upon us, which means there will be many family gatherings happening. Unfortunately, when the family is around, the desire for everything to be “just perfect,” including the meals, often arises, which can be extremely stressful. Luckily, we are here to help make sure that at least one part of your meal is seamless and delicious, the pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie is essential for any Thanksgiving gathering. It’s a holiday staple and on everyone’s menu, there’s one question that has yet to be asked: Is it possible to make the perfect the pumpkin pie?

sallys-baking-pumpkin-pie
Pumpkin Pie – sallysbaking.com

The real answer is no, there is no such thing as the perfect pumpkin pie. There are hundreds, probably even thousands of recipes that claim that they are the perfect one, the best one, etc. But I’m here to say that none of them are right! To make the perfect pumpkin pie, the best thing to do is make a hybrid of all of ingredients from your favorite recipes and piece them together. Simple as that. It may mean being “non-traditional” and going without the nutmeg or maybe you want to add a sweet twist with some chocolate chips. You can do whatever you want to a recipe as long as you have the basics down!

I had a chance to try out this hybrid method, finding some of my favorite recipes on Pinterest and created what I considered one of the best pumpkin pie recipes out there!

Flaky Pie Crust
Flaky Pie Crust – foodnetwork.com

Pie Crust

Start with just a basic pie crust, nothing too fancy, but a homemade pie crust is so much better than anything you can buy in store. I went with a butter crust because I like the flakiness that can only come from a crust with a butter base.

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups  all purpose flour

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

2 sticks of cold unsalted butter, cubed

½ cup ice water

Instructions

1. Add the flour, salt, and granulated sugar together into a mixing bowl.

2.With an electric mixer slowly beat in the cubed unsalted butter until the butter is almost mixed in.

3. While still using the mixer, slowly add the ice water and mix until a dough is formed.

4. Once combined, knead the dough to make sure it is all combined.

5. Split the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic. Store in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before baking.

6. Once ready to bake, roll out enough dough to fit your pie plate. Transfer dough to the pie dish and crimp the edges. Poke holes at the bottom of your pie. Brush edges slightly with beaten egg/milk  mixture.

7. Bake at 375º for 10 min

flour in mixing bowl
Photo Cred. elephantineblog.com

Pie Filling

Ingredients

2 cups of pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

1 ¼ packed dark brown sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ cup maple syrup

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

⅛ tsp ground cloves

⅛ tsp ground pepper

¼ tsp sugar cinnamon

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup milk

Pumpkin pie filling
photo cred. ohsheglows.com

Instructions

1. Whisk the pumpkin, 3 eggs, and brown sugar together until combined.

2. Add the cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, cream, maple syrup and milk.

3. Vigorously whisk until everything is combined. Filling will be a little thick.

4. Take the preheated pie crust and add the filling ¾ of the way.

5. Bake the pie until the center is almost set, 55-60 min at 375º F.

If you really want to be fancy and want to make whipped cream, here is a simple, easy homemade whipped cream recipe to top your homemade pumpkin pie!

whipped cream
photo cred. coffeelightandsweet.com

Ingredients

2 tbsp sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Place a metal mixing bowl and metal whisk into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Place the sugar into the mixing bowl and add the whipping cream. Whip until the cream reaches stiff peaks.
3. Store any unused whipped cream in an airtight container for up to 10 hours.

To bring it all together, slice your pie and place a dollop of whipped cream on top of each slice.

Happy Eating!

– Guest Contributor, Cara Meyers