A few weeks ago I decided to face my fear of pie dough. There have been certain baked items over the years that I have found a little intimidating, and really, the boxed ones are pretty good. First were brownies (I'll post my brownie recipe some day...), which I never found a good recipe. Then one day I did - so far superior to the boxed mix!
The other intimidating item was pie crust. I mean, Pillsbury makes a mean refrigerated version - you roll it out, it's delicious, easy. EVERYONE (including the folks on the Foodnetwork) say to use it. Why shouldn't I listen to the food network? But I felt like it was my dirty little secret that I, a baker, didn't make my own pie crust. So I rolled up my sleeves and made a pie crust. It was a little scary but a lot delicious, and really...not that much more work than going to the store and unrolling the boxed crust!
This year for Thanksgiving I decided to make EVERYTHING from scratch in the regards to pie. So, you've got the pie crust, you've got the pecan pie filling AND as a special bonus, you've got the home-made pumpkin pie made from an honest to goodness pumpkin!
Pumpkin Pie w/Puree
Yields: 1-10" pie or 2-9" pies
Prep time for puree: about 5 minutes
Cook time for puree: 15mins - 1 hour, depending on method chosen
Prep time for pie: about 10 minutes
Cook time for pie: 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes
The journey begins...with the pumpkin. Let's start with turning the pumpkin into pumpkin puree. Now, I got this recipe from this website, which has a lot of other fabulous recipe on making things from scratch.
Ingredients & tools for making pumpkin puree:
- A sharp, large, knife (for cutting the pumpkin)
- An ice cream scoop or large spoon
- A large roasting pan (if roasting, or microwaveable bowl or large pot if steaming)
- a pie pumpkin
Making Pumpkin Puree (to use in place of canned pumpkin)
Pie pumpkins are the smaller, sweeter variety of pumpkin. You do not want to get a big
jack-o-lantern pumpkin. You want a pumpkin that's going to be about 8" in diameter. It's like selecting any squash, look for one that is firm, no bruises or soft spots, and has a good orange color.
Now to prepare the pumpkin for cooking:
- Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water. No soap is necessary
- Cut the pumpkin in half - be careful not to slip and cut yourself!
- Scrape out the insides. Get ALL the gooy stringy stuff out. A heavy ice cream scoop or large spoon works. You can save the seeds and either plant them to make more pumpkins for delicious pies next year or you can roast them.
- Cook the pumpkin. Okay...so, there are a variety of ways that you can take care of these. You can steam it in the microwave or on the stove, or you can roast it. I chose to roast it hoping to maximize the pumpkin-y goodness. The most time efficient way is to go ahead and microwave it. I'll outline all your options, so you can choose (these are listed below)
- Once the pumpkin is cooked and soft, scoop out the cooked pumpkin. Do this using a broad, smooth spoon - a tablespoon will work great - and the pumpkin will separate quite easily if it is cooked enough. Put it into a big bowl.
- Puree the pumpkin into a nice, smooth consistency. Since I was at home, I got to use my Mom's lovely immersion blender. You can also use a regular blender or I bet food processor. In a pinch, use a hand mixer - it will just take a little longer.
- That's it - you have pureed pumpkin!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the prepared pumpkin in a roasting pan, flesh side down. Add enough water so it's just touching the pumpkin - you don't want to let the pumpkin dry out. Let it sit in there for 45 minutes to an hour, checking periodically by sticking it with a fork to see if it's soft.
Microwaving the Pumpkin:
Remove the stem and put the pumpkin in a microwaveable bowl. You may need to cut the pumpkin furter to make it fit, but remember: the fewer the number of pieces, the easier it will be to scoop out afterwards. Put a couple of inches of water in the bowl, cover it, and put it in the microwave. Cook for about 15 minutes on high and check to see if it's soft. Repeat in smaller increments of time until it is soft enough to scoop the innards out. Normally it takes 20 or 30 minutes in total.
Steaming the Pumpkin on the stove top:
Place your steaming basket or grid in the bottom of a large pot. Add enough water so it woun't bol dry in 20 minutes, and yet is not so high that the pumpkin is touching the water level. You may need to add more water during the cooking. Add the pumpkin and get the steamer going. The cooking time is only between 8 and 12 minutes, depending on the range. The pumpkin should literally fall off the skin.
Okay...so now you've got your pumpkin puree. The hardest part is done. You can stop here and refrigerate it over night, if you want. If you do this some of the liquid may separate and I would suggest dabbing that off before moving on to making the pie.
Next: make the pie crust (I'll go over the pie crust below both of these filling recipes).
You've got the pie crust, you've got the pumpkin puree, now time for the pie!
Pumpkin pie ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional - I didn't use any)
- dash of nutmeg
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups pumpkin puree (this is about the amount made by an 8" pumpkin, FYI)
- 1 1/2 cans (12 oz. each) of evaporated milk (low-fat versions okay)
Mix all the ingredients together well. A hand blender or mixer will be helpful. The filling is a little runny, be warned.
Next, put your pie crust in your pie dish. This recipe is good for either 2 - 9" pumpkin pies, or
1 - 10" pie. And it makes a pretty full pie at that!.
Bake the pie at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Then, trun the temperature down to 350 degrees F and bake for another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the pie and enjoy!!
Moving on...Pecan Pie.
I tend to use a lot of recipes from Paula Deen, so it's no surprise that I have this recipe courtesy of the Lady herself. You can find the original recipe here, though there is one difference between the internet recipe and the one found in her cookbook, the Lady and Sons Just Desserts. This pie is a variation on her Dark Rum Pecan Pie - also delicious!
Yields: 1 9-inch pie (6 to 8 servings)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 TBS butter, melted
- 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups pecan halves (I actually use 2 - 2 1/2 cups myself)
- 2 TBS good-quality bourbon (though in the cookbook it says 1 TBS is for the pie, and 1 for the cook - using 2 TBS will result in a slightly runny pie)
- 1 9-inch deep-dish pie shell, unbaked
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, eggs, pecans and bourbon. Stir until all the ingredients are combined. Pour the mixture into an unbaked pie shell, and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet. (Note: I usually feel there aren't enough pecans at this point and usually add a few more to the top. You really can't have enough pecans in a pecan pie, can you?). Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue to bake an additional 25 minutes, or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Okay. So, you've got your fresh pumpkin pie filling, you've got your pecan pie filling - now the PIE CRUST!
Double-Crust Pie Dough (courtesy of The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)
Yields: enough crust for 2-single crust 9" pies, or 1-double crust 9" pie
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes (includes 1 hour of chilling time)
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
- 2 TBS sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 TBS vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
- 12 TBS (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
- 6 to 8 TBS ice water
- Food processor method: Process the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Scatter the shortening over the top & process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the top and, using short pulses, process the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.
- Hand-Mixing method: Freeze the butter in its stick for until very firm. Whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar and press into the flour, using a fork. Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater into the flour mixture, then cut the mixture together, using two butter knives or a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Continue for both methods: Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture. Press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatula until the dough sticks together. If the dough does not come together, stir in the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.
- Divide the dough into two even pieces and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap the disks tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Let the chilled dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling it out and fitting it into a pie plate. (Note: I like to flour 2 pieces of wax paper and roll the dough out between them, it leads to easier clean-up).
to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Let the frozen dough thaw on the counter top until
malleable before rolling.
So...hopefully you enjoy these recipes from scratch. Enjoy & Happy Thanksgiving!!
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