Pumpkin Puree to Pumpkin Pie

Here in the United States, National Pumpkin Pie day is observed on December 25th. In honor of that holiday (even though it's still a month away) and to perfect my recipe, I decided to make a pumpkin pie from the real thing. That's right, no cans here! I used a "sugar pie pumpkin" and pureed it myself. One of these days I'll make my own pie crust too, and then it will really be a made-from-scratch pie.

So, if you're still looking for something to bring to a Thanksgiving feast, here's your recipe!

Pumpkin Pie, right out of the oven!

Recipe: Pumpkin Puree to Pumpkin Pie

Sugar Pie Pumpkin, before baking

Directions for Pumpkin Puree:
(This can be done a day or two ahead, to save time.)

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Rinse and dry the pumpkin, then cut in half.
- Remove the seeds (save them for roasting), and place the pumpkins cut side down on a baking pan lined with foil. The foil just makes clean up easier, it's not required.

Sugar Pie Pumpkin, cut in half and cooked til soft.

- Bake the pumpkin for about 40 minutes, depending on size. It is done when it is soft to the touch. I'd recommend touching it with a fork or cooking utensil, not your finger, as it will be HOT!
- When pumpkin is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool until you can hold it comfortably. (This took me about 30 minutes.)
- Scrape the inside of the pumpkin into a blender, and puree til smooth. My Vita-Mix worked great here!
- Put the puree into a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter, and let drain for about an hour. You can squeeze the water out to speed up this process a little. Otherwise, your puree will remain very liquidy, resulting in a mushy pie.

Straining the puree in a cheesecloth.

Pumpkin Pie:
Ingredients;
- One Sugar Pie Pumpkin (yes, that is what they're really called), or 2C canned pumpkin puree
- Pie Crust
- 1C Heavy Cream
- 1/2C Brown Sugar, packed
- 1/3C White Sugar
- 1/2t Salt
- 2 Whole Eggs, plus 1 Yolk
- 2t Cinnamon
- 1t Ground Ginger
- 1/4t Ground Cloves
- 1/4t Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4t Ground Cardamom
- 1/2t Lemon Zest

Directions:

(Total time is 3-4 hours. Prep, cook time 65 min, cooling for 2 hours.)
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugars, salt and spices. Add in the lemon zest.
- In a small bowl, beat together the eggs. Pour eggs into large bowl with sugars.
- Add the pumpkin puree and combine.
- Add the cream and mix until everything is well combined.
- Pour mixture into pie shell, and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, drop oven temperature to 350 and continue baking 40-50 minutes longer.
- Pie is done when a toothpick (or thin knife) comes out clean in the middle.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Slice, and serve with a dollop of whipped (organic) cream on top!

Pumpkin Pie, before going in the oven.

Pumpkin Pie, after baking. Smells delicious!

Yum!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What are you grateful for this year?