Pumpkin Pie (2 Ways!) with Spiced Whipped Cream

  •  Pumpkin Pies (2 Ways!) with Spiced Whipped Cream

    Don’t ruin Thanksgiving by not making a pumpkin pie.

    People expect pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and they expect it to be good (translation: not too pumpkin-ey).  Don’t worry, fellow baker: I’ve got you covered.  Clearly I’m serving up a savory, sweet & spicy recipe that will keep you coming back for pumpkin long after the holiday season has passed (like in July, when you just can’t take it anymore and need something other than a fruity dessert to get you through the long hot summer days… not that there’s anything wrong with the Berry Orange Fool in July.  Or November for that matter.  All I’m saying is that pumpkin pie works year-round, especially when you eat it right out of the fridge, stabbing forkfuls into the leftovers right out of the pie tin, standing there mesmerized in a pumpkin trance.).

    So I present not one, but two(!) pumpkin pie options for you: one that fits the “classic” bill, with a flaky pastry crust… and another (slightly easier version, whoo hoo) with a ginger cookie crust just to keep things interesting.  Can’t decide which one to make?  Make them both- you can spread the pumpkin batter between both crusts.  Or settle in on one and make it a deep-dish.  Regardless, this recipe is something you’ll be thankful for.  (Get it?  Thanksgiving?)

    CRUST:

    OPTION 1- Traditional Pastry Crust: try the Cream Cheese Crust or half of the Flaky Double Pie Crust

    OPTION 2- Ginger Snap Cookie Crust:

    1 1/2 cups ginger snap cookies, crushed into crumbs

    5 tablespoons butter

    1 tablespoon dried, candied ginger (optional)

    PUMPKIN FILLING:

    1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

    1/4 cup granulated sugar

    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

    1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground)

    2 eggs

    1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

    1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk

    SPICED WHIPPED CREAM:

    ½ cup heavy/whipping cream

    1 tablespoon sugar

    1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

    1/8 teaspoon ginger

    Teeny pinch of nutmeg, freshly grated

    1. Preheat oven to 425°.
    2. CRUST: for Option 1 (flaky pastry classic), follow steps in this Cream Cheese Pastry link and line one deep-dish 9″ pie plate with crust.  Pre-bake the crust a bit: line with a circle of parchment paper and use pie weights (or dried beans)… bake for about 8 minutes and remove from oven.  Take parchment paper out.
      For Option 2 (ginger cookie crumb), mix 1 1/2 cups of ginger snap cookie crumbs with 5 tablespoons of melted butter & finely diced/processed dried, candied ginger, and press into bottoms & up sides of a 9″ deep-dish pie plate.  Pre-bake the crust a bit: pop into the preheated oven to toast for about 6 minutes and remove from oven.
    3. FILLING: In a small bowl, mix brown & white sugars, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves and nutmeg; set aside.
    4. In a large bowl, beat eggs and then stir in pumpkin, sugar & spice mixture, and evaporated milk.  Pour into pie shell(s).
    5. Bake in preheated 425° oven for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350°.  If making one big deep-dish pie, bake for 40 to 50 minutes more (until a cake tester inserted near center comes out clean). Cover pie lightly with foil if edges of crust start to brown while baking.  Cool on a wire rack for a couple of hours to set.  (Store in the fridge if not serving right after it cools.)
    6. WHIPPED CREAM:  Beat whipped cream, sugar and spices together until soft peaks form, scraping sides of bowl once or twice while beating.  Serve on cooled pie slices (or refrigerate for up to a day if need be).

    Tips:

    • Lots of filling.  The filling will make two pies that are relatively flat- using basic pie tins.  If you use a deep-dish pan, you’ll get more filling in but still might have extra— and by God- don’t waste the extra!  Do what I recommend in the “gluten-free” point below.  Shame on you for even considering throwing out extra pie filling.
    • Crust options are limitless (sort of).  You could do a typical graham crust (use graham cracker crumbs instead of ginger snaps) or vanilla wafers… or chocolate wafers to rock the cocoa theme.  Just whirl the cookies in a food processor for as long as it takes to create fine crumbs, and voila.  (I add the chunks of dried, candied ginger to the food processor after the ginger snaps have been crumbled into a crust.  Takes the step of dicing out of the equation- and if you have ever diced candied ginger, you will know that it’s a real bitch.)
    • Extra miler?  Of course you are!  Use homemade ginger cookie crumbs for the crust from the Chewy Ginger Cookies here.  (Just bake them a bit longer to crisp up.)
    • Pre-baking the crust- argh?!  I’m sorry.  But sometimes pumpkin pies have an under-baked crust thing going on, which I know you don’t want.  By all means- skip the step- but know that the bottom of your pie might be a bit sog-a-licious.
    • Lazy?  Yes, you could always buy pumpkin pie filling (in the can) instead of adding your own spices.  Or you could add a tablespoon or two of pumpkin pie spice instead of the spices noted above (which won’t have as much variety in the spice, just so you know).  But then again, if you’re feeling that lazy you could also just buy the damned pie at the store.  (Please don’t use a store-bought frozen crust.  Well.  Who am I to judge?  Go forth into the frozen aisle if it makes you happy.  Like Justin Bieber sings, I should never say never.)
    • One more twist: 2 tablespoons of molasses stirred into the filling adds a different level of “wow”- so I added it to the ginger crust version.  You could add it to the classic version as well, or omit- just an option to keep things interesting.
    • Other Thanksgiving dessert options include the wicked Decadent Deep-Dish Pecan Pie (oh, yes), the Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake with Bourbon-Caramel Sauce… or just blow the whole theme and make Mint-Chocolate Truffles.
    • Make a gluten-free version by baking some of the pie goo in a small (greased )ramekin (sans pie crust); just watch in the oven and take it out when the sides are set and the insides jiggle a little bit.  Healthier and without the gluten- nice!

     

    Print Friendly, PDF & EmailClick Here to PRINT This Recipe Now!

    Related Recipes & Posts:


    November 17th, 2012 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags:

Leave a Reply

* Name, Email, and Comment are Required