The Pumpkin Pie Recipe We're Obsessed With

Oh, fall, what a gourd-geous season! The changing leaves often coincide with a serious uptick in impulse buys at the grocery store, and last week the result was a sugar/pie pumpkin in my cart with no concrete plans. Fate threw me a bone, and I had an opportunity to cook dinner for some friends, and our little pumpkin became a pie. 

Now, the pie was not meant to be the star, and in fact, I threw it together while company was already there because it was THAT EASY. And yet, what were people talking about after dinner? The pie. Did people ask me for the recipe? Oh, they sure did. 

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and the season of giving, I'm passing on this recipe to you, Suzanne's Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie. Thank you, Suzanne!!

What's the big deal?

I get it, you're probably asking yourself what could be so special about a pumpkin pie? Two things, my friends: Homemade pumpkin puree (it's not that difficult!), and heavy cream. 

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

1. Sugar pumpkins are already usually the perfect size for pie, but look for one in the small to medium range if you're worried.
2. Cut it in half and scoop out the insides. Fun fact: In my experience, sugar pumpkin seeds are MUCH easier to clean than the carving kind. They're definitely worth saving for toasting. They're also high in skin nourishing zinc, so toast away and eat up!
3. Suzanne did not call for oiling the pumpkin before roasting, but I sure did. I painted coconut oil all over the flesh of the two pumpkin halves before placing them face down on a lined baking sheet. 
4. Bake at 350°F until a fork goes in easy. Suzanne said an hour to an hour and a half. Mine were definitely done before then, so check your gourds!
5. Let cool and scoop out flesh and/or peel away skin depending on how much you over cooked them. Not that I did this...
6. This last step is critical, and I think the original recipe leaves it out: PUREE YOUR PUMPKIN. This seems obvious, but don't think you can just mash it with a fork or a beater – you'll only end up with a lumpy pie, and no one wants that. Toss it in a food processor or a blender and save yourself the headache. Or, do what I did as a scatterbrained, pregnant cook trying to entertain company, and mix all of the ingredients together – lumpy pumkin included – and throw the entire filling in a Vitamix Blender (perhaps the best kitchen contraption ever). I wouldn't recommend this, but my filling came out smooth and super fluffy!

The Pie Crust

Pie crust is kind of a big deal. While I do aspire to be a contestant on the Great British Baking Show (no soggy bottoms, people!), I didn't have time or enough pre-planning to make a crust from scratch. Coupled with the fact that one of my guests is strictly gluten free, I chose to go the store-bought route and got frozen crusts from Silly Zak's. It was a little pricey compared to the other freezer options, but the ingredients are recognizable and simple, which we're all into here. Plus, it was delicious! I don't want to call anybody out, but it was way, way tastier than the prefab crusts from a certain doughy boy we all know. Especially if you're cooking gluten free, I'm serious, try this crust.

Make the Pie

1. Pull pie crust from the freezer and let it defrost for about 10 minutes. 
2. After preheating your oven to 425°F (because you planned ahead and have already roasted your pumpkin), beat together eggs, and add sugars, salt, spices and lemon zest. 
3. Add pumpkin PUREE and cream and beat together until everything is well combined. 
4. Pour into pie shell and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. Then, reduce heat to 350°F, and bake another 45 to 55 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean from the center. 
5. Suzanne says to rest it for 2 hours. As previously stated, this was a sort of last minute plan and I didn't do that. It was still a little puffy (it inflates during baking, but deflates during cooling), but the biggest problem was it will melt your whipped cream/ice cream if you don't let it sit long enough. Choose your poison.

What You'll Need

• 2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 2 cups of pumpkin pulp purée from a sugar pumpkin* OR 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin purée (can also use puréed cooked butternut squash)
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream or 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
• 1 good crust (sure, make your own, or be lazy enterprising like yours truly and go store bought. I went premium and gluten-free for one of my guests and LOVED IT. Try Silly Zak's.)

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving, you Turkeys!

Recipe credit to www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/suzannes_old_fashioned_pumpkin_pie/