Spooky pumpkin pie to spice up the holiday

As the leaves start to change and the air turns crisp, nothing spices up an Autumn evening quite like a Pumpkin Pie. Whether the occasion is Halloween, Thanksgiving, or an Autumn party, this Pumpkin Pie is sure to be a hit!

Pumpkin Pie Filling

Ingredients:

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

425 grams of canned pumpkin

6 oz granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt  

1-teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ pint Evaporated Milk

Top Tricks!

The trick to a fabulous pie is fresh ingredients! Not everyone has fresh pumpkins in their garden, but it is easy to buy unground spices.  Grind the spices yourself with a mortar and pestle.

Pie Crust

This buttery crust is sure to compliment a Pumpkin Pie or any flavor of choice. This recipe makes enough for two pie crusts, so you can half the recipe if you want.

     Ingredients:

     2-½ cups all-purpose flour

     1 cup unsalted butter(2 sticks or 8 ounces)

     1 teaspoon salt

     1-teaspoon sugar

     6-8 Tablespoons of Ice Water

Top Tricks!

The trick to a flaky crust is in the butter. Make sure you chop the butter into small cubes and freeze it for at least 15 minutes. This works better if you freeze the butter for an hour or overnight.

1. Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a food processor and mix them together using the pulse function.  Then add the butter cubes, pulsing 6-8 times. You want the mixture to have tiny pearls of butter mixed throughout.  Alternate between adding tablespoons of water and pulsing the mixture until you can pinch the dough and it holds together. Once the crumbly dough holds together, STOP adding water.  Too much water will toughen the dough.

2. Take the dough mixture and dump it out on a clean counter top.  Be careful, it can get messy! Shape the dough into two disks but don't over-knead the dough. You want to see the butter chunks in the dough disks. If you want a flakier crust, flatten the dough with heel of your hand a few times before shaping the dough into disks.  Lightly sprinkle flour around the disks and wrap them in plastic wrap.  Make sure to refrigerate for at least an hour and up to two days.

4. Line with foil and pour baking beads into the foil so they weigh down the dough.  Bake the crust in the oven for 10-15 minutes.  While the crust bakes, mix the filling ingredients together in a large bowl. Remove the foil and pour the Pumpkin Pie Filling into the pie shell! Turn the heat down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Put the pie in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes. You know the pie is done when you can insert a knife into the center and it comes out without pie filling clinging to the blade.  

5.     Allow to cool and serve!