An Outstanding Pumpkin Pie Recipe- A Soon-to-be Staple of Your Holiday Meals

What is Pumpkin Pie?

The headline 'Trumans Skip Pumpkin Pie' appeared in The New York Times on November 25, 1947. It was Eggless Thursdaythe eighth since the launch of the president's food conservation driveand pumpkin pie contains eggs, so it was out. But the treasured dessert was so important for the Americans that its absence from the dinner table on that year's Thanksgiving Day became a thing of news. (It was substituted with mincemeat pie.)

The popularity of pumpkin pie, a classic dessert made with a flaky pie crust filled with spiced pumpkin puree custard, has been huge. This delicious traditional pie is usually made during the fall harvest holidays like Thanksgiving, when pumpkin and squash are in season. Otherwise too, one can find pumpkin pie spice in a variety of baked delicacies. The spice blend is generally composed of nutmeg, ground cinnamon, cloves, ginger and sometimes allspice.

Origins of Pumpkin Pie

It's difficult to pinpoint the origins of a recipe that's popular globally. But let's begin with the word pumpkin, which historical theories suggest, is derived from the Greek word pepon, which means large melon. The French changed it to pompon, and the English later started calling it a pumpion or pompion.

According to journals, early European explorers brought back this native North American produce, pumpkin, from their travels to the New World (present-day America) as early as 1536. Within decades, English farmers were growing the vegetable. Pumpkin pie was on the menu in colonial America by 1620 when the famous Pilgrims (a group of English families) started sailing from England to the New World in an English merchant ship called the Mayflower. It might not be surprising that Native Americans had a long history of cooking and consuming pumpkin before European settlers arrived, but what is amazing is that the colonists knew about it just one year after settling in.

The initial Pumpkin pie recipes started appearing in cookbooks by the mid 17th century. A 1653 French cookbook included a recipe with milk boiled pumpkin that was strained and baked in a crust. There was also a recipe by English writer Hannah Woolley in 1670 that had a pie filled with layers of pumpkin, apple, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. An early New England recipe called for a hollowed-out pumpkin filled with sweet milk and cooked over an open fire. This same recipe was later published in England with the addition of apples.

Pumpkin pie has long been a Thanksgiving staple. But the sweet, tangy dessert did not become widely recognized as a Thanksgiving tradition until the release of Amelia Simmons' cookbook American Cookery in 1796. So beloved is pumpkin pie that according to legend, in the early 18th century, a small town in Connecticut postponed its harvest-themed celebrations due to a lack of molasses, which was widely used to make the dish.

Having originated in the American colonies, pumpkin pie is an example of the culinary melting pot of the United States. A result of combining Old World culinary techniques with New World ingredients, pumpkin pie is the quintessential North American dish.

Ingredients for Your Outstanding Pumpkin Pie

One of the most valuable references regarding pumpkin pie can be found in The Story of a Pumpkin Pie by Dr. William E. Barton. The poet shared life lessons with his children through this poem. The underlying message is, in order to make a delicious pumpkin pie, the most important ingredients one needs are patience, persistence, the ability to learn, hard work, right timing, and a love for baking!

In case you've already got these, here are the other ingredients you'll need-
For the puree- One medium-sized sugar pumpkin (around 1250 g), Canola oil for oiling the pumpkin.
For the crust- Three cups (400 g) of all-purpose flour, a pinch of salt, two cups (260 g) of unsalted cold butter.
For the filling- One cup (240 ml) of sweetened condensed milk, one cup (240 ml) of heavy cream, two tablespoons (30 g) of cornstarch, two tablespoons (30 ml) of molasses, two tablespoons (30 ml) of canola oil, two teaspoons (10 g) of cinnamon (ground), one teaspoon ground ground ginger (5 g), half a teaspoon (2.5 g) finely grated lemon zest, a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg, a pinch of fresh ground cloves, a pinch of fresh ground cardamom, a pinch of salt, three large eggs with yolks, chilled whipped cream for serving (optional).

Steps to Making Your Outstanding Pumpkin Pie

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
   
2. To make the pumpkin puree- remove the stem from the pumpkin and cut it in half. Now, scoop out the seeds and lightly season the insides with a pinch of salt. Lay the pieces cut side down on a baking sheet with aluminium foil beneath it in the baking tray. Rub canola oil all over the skin and bake until fork-tender for around 50-60 minutes. After cooling, scoop out the pulp from the roasted pumpkin and run it through the food processor to make a smooth puree.
   
3. To make the pie crust- while our pumpkin faces the heat, let's make the crust. Mix flour (keep some for flouring the dough later) and salt in a large bowl. Take out the butter from your fridge 15 mins before use and cut it into small cubes. Mix butter cubes with the flour-salt mixture with your hands until it's granular. Put four to five tablespoons of cold water, whisk it until the mixture is moistened, and make two doughs. Wrap them in food-grade plastic sheets and refrigerate them for 30 minutes.
   
4. Now take out the dough for your pumpkin pie crust from the fridge, sprinkle some flour on the dough and roll it to make a nine-inch round crust of around six mm. Use the fork to pierce the sheet all over. Refrigerate it for another 15 minutes.
   
5. Line the crust with aluminium foil or baking paper and fill with pie weights. Bake the crust for ten minutes to set it and get a light brown colour. Take it out from the oven, remove weights, etc. and keep it aside. Now, lower your oven temperature to 350 F.
   
6. Use a large bowl to make the pie filling and whisk the eggs well. Put pumpkin puree (around four cups), condensed or evaporated milk, cream, cornstarch, molasses, brown sugar, white sugar, canola oil, pumpkin pie spices (nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, ginger), salt and lemon zest and combine thoroughly until everything is mixed well.
   
7. Pour the filling into the crust just before you reach the top and bake it until the custard is properly set in the centre for around 60 minutes.
   
8. Let it cool to room temperature, and your classic old perfect pumpkin pie is ready to be served. Serve it with whipped cream and a choice of your toppingschilled or at room temperature.
   

How To Get the Perfect Pie Crust

When making pie crust dough, it is best to cut the fat into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs, then mix in cold water to make a dough. The fat coats protein molecules in the flour, keeping water molecules away, resulting in a better pie crust dough.

Before baking tips-

• Only use the cold butter to mix with the flour.
  
• To moisten the flour and butter mixture, only use ice-cold water.
  
• The cooking environment should be cool.
  
• Do not overwork the dough and chill it for 30 minutes before baking, if possible.
  

• Bake the pie in the lower third part of the oven initially.
  
• Try to use a glass pie plate to see if the crust is baking well.
  
• Bake the pie at a high temperature initially, then lower the temperature towards the finishing line. This makes sure that the butter in the crust produces enough steam to form layers and that the crust doesn't burn.
  

Fresh or Canned Pumpkin? What's Better?

The traditional way of making homemade pumpkin puree for your authentic pumpkin pie is to use only small-sized sugar pumpkins (a smaller, more flavorful and a little darker orangish than other pumpkin varieties) after roasting them. However, canned pumpkin puree generally uses a combination of pumpkin varieties like Butternut, Hubbard, Boston Marrow, and golden delicious. The puree is then mostly steamed.

When making pumpkin pie from scratch, you can either use canned pumpkin puree or create your puree using the recipe we have just provided. The same goes with the crustbuy a frozen pack from the market or make your fresh crust at home. Canned pumpkin puree will give you a consistently good result every time. Making puree by roasting a sugar pumpkin (or other flavorful winter squash like butternut or kabocha) will result in a more intense flavour and texture.

Which tastes better? Adding pumpkin pies to the Thanksgiving dessert spread is a time-honored tradition, and grandma would approve of baking pies from scratch. Whether you're making quick-and-easy pumpkin pies, or creating an elaborate pastry masterpiece, you'd want everyone to remember you until the next Thanksgiving dinner. A common factor to any homemade pumpkin pie is that you have the best pumpkin pureecanned or otherwise.

How to Store Your Pumpkin Pie

You can bake your pumpkin pie a couple of days in advance and refrigerate it until showtime. Or you could have the puree and crust ready first, to avoid last-minute delays, especially when you have guests to entertain.

Homemade pumpkin pie can grow harmful bacteria because it uses milk and eggs. The FDA and Food Industry experts recommend keeping it at room temperature for not more than two hours after cooking and cooling. It needs to be refrigerated as soon as possible after thatthe standard procedure for any Cold Food.

Let the leftover or whole pumpkin pie cool down completely to room temperature after cooking, for at least two hours. Then use an airtight container to refrigerate it for up to three to four days. It's one of those pies that tastes better when consumed chilled.

You can prepare the crust and the pumpkin puree in advance and refrigerate them for up to a week, or freeze them for more than a month separately, and thaw them when you're ready to bake.

You can also freeze your whole homemade pumpkin pie or its leftovers for up to a month. To ensure that your pie freezes fast (this prevents large ice crystals from forming in the filling and preserves the texture of your pie), it is advised to bake your pumpkin pie in a disposable aluminium foil pan for better results.

It's imperative to note that keeping the Food Temperature below 0 F in the deep freezer might also affect your pumpkin pie's taste, texture, and quality. In addition, your pie might turn watery and soggy when defrosted. The pie should ideally defrost slowly for 16-20 hours in the refrigerator itself before you relish it.