Pumpkin Pies

  Hello again. This post is a bit out of place I guess, given that Thanksgiving was on Monday. But my mom didn't buy a pumpkin until tuesday. And so, since I've only ever tasted it once; and even then it was a rather awful, I decided it was about time I tried making my very own, good old fashioned, home baked, pumpkin pie.

  My mom has a recipe for pumpkin pie that she got from her mother, but I wasnt sure how much I would like it. From the recipe it sounded pretty flavourless. So I went and found a different recipe in one of my moms old recipe books. Just to try it. After I found one, I started on the pumpkin.

  I've decided to have mercy, and spare you the gorey details of my one and a half hour long battle with a pumpkin; so we'll start at the moment I first tasted it. I literally just took my first bite. As I am writing this. This is a spiced pumpkin pie recipe. Its very good. Served best with a dollop of whipped cream.

  I will also add my mothers recipe for pumpkin pie in this post for anyone who prefers a more mild pumpkin pie, and her recipe for pie crust because, lets be honest, the frozen store bought  ones taste like crap.

 

  PIE CRUST

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lard or vegetable shortening

2 cups flour

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

 

Directions:

1. Put the first two ingredients into a bowl and rub with a fork until crumbly.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and kneed until you have a dough stifff enough for rolling. (When you lift it up, your fingers should not poke holes into it). More flour may be added if necessary.

3. Roll out until nice and thin and place gently into whatever sized pie plate you are working with. (This recipe will nicely fill two 8" round pie plates).

 

  SPICED PUMPKIN PIE

 

Ingredients:

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 cup solid packed fresh pumpkin

1 tbsp molasses

3 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

 

Directions:

1. Mix the first eight ingredients in a bowl.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until completely combined.

3. Pour into a 9" pie shell. (It can be a frozen crust but I would recommend using the pie crust recipe thats enclosed in this post.)

4. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes or until the centre is set.

 

MOM'S PUMPKIN PIE

 

Ingredients:

1 quart fresh pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in medium sized pot. (keep the egg whites seperate!!!)

2. Cook on high heat stirring constantly until it thickens.

3. Spread into a 8x8 pie shell.

4. Beat egg whites with about 1 tbsp sugar, until it forms stiff peaks.

5. Spread on top of uncooked pie and sprinkle with a cinnamon/sugar mixture made up of: one part cinnamon and two parts sugar.

6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

 

Little tips from me:

  Serve the spiced pumpkin pie with a HUGE amount of whipped cream. You can never have too much.

  Also when Iwas making it, I put the filling into a blender on high speed for about 5 minutes to get a smooth texture.

I will be adding the pictures for both pie recipes in this post. The one in the 9x13 pan is my moms (we made a double recipe). The slice one is the spiced pumpkin pie. For your viewing pleasure.