Pumpkin Pie From Scratch- Easier Than You Think
Making Pumpkin Pie from scratch is so much easier than people realize. You can make this pie up to 2 days ahead of time too and let it sit in the fridge. Your holiday dessert will not only be delicious but made with fresh ingredients. The plus side to this is that the kids can help. You can let them get their helping hands busy so that when the big holiday rolls around they already will have had their share of helping in the kitchen.
Picking The Right Pumpkin
You will want to start with a Pie Pumpkin. These are smaller than the typical carving pumpkins. You can usually find them on smaller shelves in the grocery stores or as decoration. Don’t get them confused with mini pumpkins. These are nice and round unlike a mini pumpkin.
Pick one with a bright orange smooth skin. You will want the heaviest pumpkin you can find. A sticker is sometimes on the bottom of them indicating they are a pie pumpkin. If you aren’t sure, good ole Google will do the trick to help you determine the types of pumpkins.
Lets Get Started
Start by cutting the stem off of the pumpkin and scooping out the seeds. You can roast these seeds just as you would a carving pumpkin, if you like.
After you scoop out the seeds and the strings place them cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.
When they are done baking, turn them over and set them down to cool.
Putting It All Together
At this time I like to start putting the ingredients together. I measure out my cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and ground cloves into a bowl. Combine the dry ingredients with 1 egg and 1 can of sweet condensed milk. The recipe calls for 1 1/3 cup sweet condensed milk but that is equivalent to one 14oz. can. So only buy one can per pie you intend to make. Also another side note. 1 decent size Pie Pumpkin should give you just about the right amount of pumpkin, once cooked for this recipe.
When your pumpkins are cool enough to touch scoop the flesh out as close to the skin as possible. Mash in a bowl. If it gets a little watery you can carefully drain the excess liquid out. When you have mashed the pumpkin real smooth measure out approximately 1 1/3 cup smooth pumpkin. This is where I dont worry about if I have the exact amount. If I have a little bit more, I throw it in, if it’s a little less, no biggy either. It all works out. Add one cup hot water to the bowl and mix well. There is a reason my mixer is covered in green marker. My fourth son did this about 9 years ago and I never had the heart to wipe it off. At the time I thought he would be my last baby and it was just one of those moments you hold onto and laugh at later. I don’t laugh too much at those moments with Hawk, but that’s probably because they happen too often!
Don’t Be Too Crusty
Pie crusts are up to you at this point. You can get fancy and make your own. I bought a store-bought one and opted for graham cracker instead of a traditional pumpkin pie crust. I’m not all about the crust. I prefer simple. I slipped it out of the cheesy pie tin it came in and into my awesome Pampered Chef pie stoneware I have had for a million years and just pressed it into the sides and bottom. If you want to get a pie plate that wont burn your pies consider the stoneware ones from Pampered Chef. We have so much stoneware and love it all! You can purchase it right here from my friend Tracy!
Pour the mixture in and bake at 375 degrees for about 65 minutes. The center may be a tiny bit soft still when you take it out. Just allow it to cool.
Once cool, refrigerate for up to a few days. Or serve with a dollop of whip cream on top. Vanilla ice cream would be yummy with it too!
Easy, right? Did you catch all the parts where the kids can help? Let them scoop seeds out. Mix the ingredients, scoop the flesh, press the crust in, cut into eighths and do a little math while at it. I’ve always been about “unschooling” kids. Enjoy!
For a printable version of this recipe and the ingredient list please click here.
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