Pumpkin Pie

It’s Thanksgiving Day!!! Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours. I’m very thankful for each and every precious moment of my life. Thankful for what I am and what I have.

Thanksgiving, as you all know, is all about giving thanks, sharing love, and gobbling up some yummy food and being grateful for everything you have in your life. Thanksgiving Day officially kicks off the ‘holiday season’ in the United States. For those of you, who are not familiar with the American Thanksgiving, here’s a super short history lesson. When the Pilgrims came to America in 1620, the Native Americans helped them by teaching how to farm and fish. In the fall of 1621, after a successful growing season the pilgrims invited the Native Americans to a harvest feast and gave thanks for all that they had. This celebration became known as Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin pie is usually served as a Thanksgiving dessert and even though I am not a big fan of pumpkin I decided to make a pie this year to keep up with the Thanksgiving traditions. Since this is my first time making a pumpkin pie, I wanted to do everything from scratch and decided to make my own pie crust and not to use readymade frozen pie shells. I must say baking the pie was so much fun and isn’t as hard as it seems. The best part of the baking process is the fabulous aroma of pumpkin and spices that blends perfectly well with the crisp Fall air.

Here’s what you need for Pie crust:

1. All purpose flour – 1½ cups
2. Granulated white sugar – 1 Tbsp
3. Salt – ½ tsp
4. Butter – 5 Tbsp
5. Vegetable shortening – ¼ cup
6. Cold water – as needed

Notes:

1. Make sure all the above ingredients are extremely cold. If it is in room temperature, pop it into the refrigerator for couple of minutes
2. Butter and vegetable shortening must be cut into cubes
3. The pie crust can be made in advance and can be kept in the freezer

Directions:

1. In a food processor, add flour, salt, sugar and mix it well
2. Add butter and vegetable shortening into the food processor and pulse it until it’s all mixed together (size of small peas)
3. Slowly add water (1 tsp at a time) and process just until the dough holds together when pinched
4. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and form into a ball. Cover with a plastic wrap and keep it refrigerated for 30 minutes. This will help in chilling the butter and relaxing the gluten in the flour.
5. Grease (with cooking spray) and set aside a 9 inch pie pan
6. Place the chilled dough on a flour surface and roll it to fit the pie pan. Make sure the rolled out pastry is about 2 inches larger than your pie pan
7. When the pastry is rolled to the desired size, lightly roll pastry around your rolling pin. Unroll onto the top of your pie pan.
8. Gently lay in pan and with your fingertips lightly press the pastry into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Seal the pastry on the edges of the pan using a fork and set aside.

Here’s what you need for filling:

1. Pumpkin puree (canned) – 15 oz
2. Evaporated milk (canned) – 12 oz
3. Pumpkin spice – 1 Tbsp
4. Granulated sugar – ¾ cup
5. Salt – ½ tsp
6. Eggs – 2 nos

Directions for pumpkin pie:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F
2. Take a large bowl and add all the above filling ingredients and whisk it together until all combines
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell and place it in the oven
4. Bake it for 15 minutes at 425 F. After 15 minutes, reduce your oven temperature to 350 F and bake it for an hour or until the filling is set and the crust has browned
5. Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool. Garnish as desired.
6. Serve it cold or at room temperature. You can also store the pie leftovers in the refrigerator for few days.

Happy cooking !! ♥♥