Pumpkin Pies

This year for our big extended family Thanksgiving, I signed up to make pumpkin pie.  Since I needed two pies, I decided to try two different recipes (my mother-in-law graciously lent me a second pie dish).  They were both good, but my preference, taste-wise, was the first recipe from The New Best Recipe cookbook.  It was a lot more time consuming to make my own crust and it had a lot more ingredients, but I liked the richer, sweeter, creamier filling.  My first crust accidentally shrunk as I baked it (prompting me to ask for pie weights for Christmas).  Also, after we cut into it, I realized I should have kept it in the oven for 5-10 more minutes because the center of the pie wasn't set as well as it could have been, but it still tasted delicious. The second Pumpkin Pie recipe was just off the McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice jar that Jeremy found in the cupboard.  It tasted just fine--you can't screw up a simple recipe.



Pumpkin Pie   (2013 Cookbook Challenge)
Recipe from America's Test Kitchen: The New Best Recipe

Pie Shell:
1&1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
4-5 tablespoons ice water

Pie Filling:
2 cups (16 oz) plain canned pumpkin puree
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup milk
4 large eggs

Directions for Pie Shell:
Process the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined.  Add the shortening and process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds.   Scatter the butter pieces over the flour and cut into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses.  Turn into a medium bowl.   Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture and using a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix.  Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to 1 more tablespoon of ice water if necessary.  Flatten dough into a 4-inch disk.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour or up to 2 days before rolling.

Remove dough from fridge (if in fridge longer than an hour, let sit a few minutes until malleable).  Using a rolling pin, roll dough on a lightly floured work surface or between two sheets of parchment paper, working from the center to the edges in clockwise fashion, until it becomes a 12-inch circle.   Transfer the dough to a 9" pie plate by rolling the dough around the rolling pin and unrolling over the pie pan.   Ease the dough into the pan corners and trim the dough edges to about 1/2 inch beyond the rim of the pan.  Fold the overhang under itself and flute the dough using your fingers to make a pattern or a fork to flatten dough against the rim.  Refrigerate until firm, about 40 minutes, then freeze until very cold, about 20 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375º.  Remove the dough-lined pie plate from the freezer and press a doubled piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil inside the pie shell, folding the edges to shield the fluted edge.  Distribute 2 cups ceramic or metal pie weights over the foil.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Carefully remove the pie weights and foil and continue to bake until light golden brown, 5-6 minutes.  This will produce a partially baked crust that is now ready for the filling.   As soon as the pie shell comes out of the oven, adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and increase oven temperature to 400º. 

Directions for Pumpkin Pie Filling:
While the crust is baking, process the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, spices, and salt in a food processor for 1 minute until combined.  Transfer mixture to a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan on the stovetop and bring to a sputtering simmer over medium-high heat.  Cook the pumpkin mixture, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.

Whisk the heavy cream and milk into the pumpkin mixture and bring to a bare simmer.   Process the eggs in the food processor for about 5 seconds until whites and yolks are combined.  With the motor running, slowly pour about half of the hot pumpkin mixture through the feed tube to combine with the eggs.  Stop the machine and add the remaining pumpkin mixture. Process 30 seconds longer.

Immediately pour the warm filling mixture into the hot pie crust.  (Ladle any excess filling into the pie after it has baked 5 minutes and had a chance to settle.)  Bake the pie at 400º on the lowest rack in the oven about 25 minutes, until the filling is puffed, dry-looking, lightly cracked around the edges, and the center wiggles a little when pie is gently shaken.  Cool on a wire rack for at least an hour.

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McCormick Signature Pumpkin Pie
from McCormick

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 unbaked pie crust, frozen

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and pour into pie crust.   Bake in preheated 425º oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temp to 350º and bake another 40 minutes.   Cool completely.