Pumpkin Pie
Silky pumpkin pie with warm spices and a touch of brown sugar, baked in a flaky butter crust. Make it the day before so it can set.
- Full Meals
- Oven
- No meat
- Dessert
- 105 min total
- Serves 8
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
Enter a number of at least ½, in steps of ½.
Original recipe serves 8. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
Crust
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
- 4 tbsp ice water, about
Filling
- 15 oz canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
To serve
- 1 cup whipped cream, for serving
Gear
- 9-inch pie plate
- Rolling pin
- Pie weights or dried beans
- Sheet pan
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Steps
Step 1: CRUST: Whisk the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces. Sprinkle in ice water a tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork, until the dough holds together when squeezed. Press into a disk, wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
Step 2: Roll the dough to a 12-inch circle on a floured counter. Fit it into a 9-inch pie plate, trim to a 1/2-inch overhang, fold under and crimp the edge. Freeze 15 minutes.
Step 3: Heat the oven to 400°F. Line the crust with parchment or foil, fill with pie weights or dried beans, and bake 15 minutes. Remove the weights and bake 5 minutes more until the bottom looks dry. Lower the oven to 350°F.
Step 4: FILLING: Whisk the pumpkin, both sugars and eggs until smooth. Whisk in the cream, milk, vanilla, spices and salt.
Step 5: Set the warm crust on a sheet pan and pour in the filling. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until the edges are set and the center still jiggles slightly, like gelatin, when you nudge the pan. If the crust edge browns too fast, cover it with strips of foil.
Step 6: Cool on a rack at least 3 hours, then refrigerate. Serve chilled or at room temperature with whipped cream.
Game plan
For Thanksgiving dessert:
- 2 days before: Make the crust dough and refrigerate.
- Day before, morning: Roll, crimp and freeze the crust. Blind-bake.
- Day before, midday: Fill and bake. Cool on the counter 3 hours, then cover and refrigerate. The oven is now free for the big day.
- Thanksgiving, after dinner: Whip the cream. Slice and serve. Leftover pie for breakfast is allowed.
Swaps
- Crust: Store-bought refrigerated pie crust works great; still blind-bake it.
- Dairy: Swap the cream and milk for one 12-oz can of evaporated milk.
- Spice: Use 2 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of the four separate spices.
Tips
- Blind-baking the crust before filling keeps the bottom from going soggy.
- Make sure you buy pure pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling is already sweetened and spiced.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
Pumpkin pie is a custard pie, and once you know that, everything about making it makes sense. It’s basically eggs and cream thickened with pumpkin, which means it needs gentle heat and it needs to come out of the oven before you think it’s ready. That last part takes courage.
Custard sets as the egg proteins tighten up with heat. Bake it until the center is firm and those proteins squeeze too tight, and the pie cracks and gets a little grainy. Pull it when the edges are set and the middle still jiggles, and the leftover heat finishes the job while it cools. A cracked pie still tastes good, but a smooth one makes you look like a pro.
Blind-baking the crust first is the other secret. A wet filling poured into raw dough makes a soggy bottom. A crust that’s already partly baked stays flaky. Make it the day before so it can chill and set, and you’ll have one less thing on Thanksgiving morning.
HAM out.
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