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Homemade pumpkin pie is, simply stated, the best dessert for fall! Learn how to make the best homemade pumpkin pie with this recipe. Includes ingredients and bake times for 8″, 9″ or 10″ pumpkin pies. This is one of our best pumpkin recipes for Thanksgiving.
Nothing says fall, Thanksgiving and the holidays like pumpkin pie! This is my sister’s homemade pumpkin pie recipe, taken from her Betty Crocker cookbook. It’s the pie we always have during our family dinners and it’s delicious!
How to Make Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin pie is one of the easiest pies to make! It only takes one crust and you can have the filling mixed up in about 5 minutes. Be sure to buy solid-pack pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. You can adjust the spices for this pie if you’d like. Add a touch more cinnamon or leave out the cloves. It’s up to you!
Do I need to pre bake the crust for a pumpkin pie?
There is no need to pre-bake a pie crust for pumpkin pie. Make your favorite pie crust and place it in the pan unbaked (or buy refrigerated pie dough if you’d like a shortcut). The crust will bake beautifully along with the pie.
Can you substitute milk for evaporated milk in pumpkin pie?
Evaporated milk is the best choice for pumpkin pie. If you don’t have evaporated milk, the next best choice is half and half or heavy cream. Can you use milk in pumpkin pie? Yes, but add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the pie filling to be sure the pie sets up correctly.
Do you need to refrigerate a pumpkin pie?
Pumpkin pies are made with milk and eggs, similar to custard. Because of this, pumpkin pie should be stored in the refrigerator. The pie will generally be okay for 2 hours at room temperature, then refrigerate it.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie – 8″ Recipe
1 large egg
1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon cloves
1 ¼ cups evaporated milk
Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, then without opening the oven, reduce temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 35 minutes.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie – 10″ Recipe
3 large eggs
2 ¾ cups canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
2 ¼ cups evaporated milk
Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, then without opening the oven, reduce temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 55 minutes.
How do you know when a pumpkin pie is done?
Your pumpkin pie should not jiggle when you shake the pie plate gently. It should be firmed up in the center. You can do a knife test and gently push a knife into the center of the pie. It should come out clean. Sometimes the knife test can cause a crack in the top of the pie, but it is the easiest way to test if the pie is done.
In a bowl, beat the eggs using a hand mixer. Beat in remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
Pour into the unbaked pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes, then without opening the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until the center is set and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Serve with whipped cream.
Store the cake in the refrigerator.
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Notes
The calories shown are based on the pie being cut into 8 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of pie. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Store-bought pumpkin pie mix (sometimes labeled "pumpkin pie filling") is a shortcut for making homemade pumpkin pie. It contains puréed pumpkin plus added spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. It also contains sugar and other chemical additives.
The pie is generally flavored with pumpkin pie spice, a blend that includes cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves or allspice. The pie is usually prepared with canned pumpkin, but fresh-cooked pumpkin can be used.
Start with the right variety of pumpkins, sugar pumpkins. Large pumpkins that we traditionally think of as jack-o-lanterns aren't ideal for pie as they are very stringy and have a lot of seeds. There really isn't very much “meat” to the larger pumpkins. Sugar pumpkins, also known as pie pumpkins, are sweeter.
Pumpkin pie is a great make-ahead dessert to cross off your Thanksgiving to-do list. You can prepare and bake the pie up to two days in advance, and it will still taste great on the big day. Just make sure you store the pie in the refrigerator—not on the kitchen counter—until you are ready to serve it.
Ingredients - Pumpkin puree made from scratch contains only pumpkin, but canned puree may contain a preservative like salt. Pumpkin pie filling contains additional ingredients like sugar, spices, and thickeners.
If you meant to purchase pumpkin pie filling but accidentally grabbed a can of plain pumpkin, it's easy to sweeten and season the puree. Follow a good pumpkin pie recipe (there's usually a recipe printed right on the label) and add sugar and spices to the puree along with other ingredients like eggs before baking.
Not only does roasting deepen the flavor of the pumpkin, but it bakes off some of the moisture in the purée, ensuring a more custard-like pie with less risk of a soggy crust.
Yes, the actual pumpkin in the dish is quite healthy, but the butter and flour in the crust as well as the cream and sugar needed for the filling add a good dose of saturated fat and calories. But a healthy pumpkin pie is possible!
Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing. These terms are often used interchangeably in recipes, though you may also see the term solid-pack pumpkin. All these terms mean 100% steamed and pureed pumpkin—no extras, no add-ins—not even in the canned variety.
There isn't much of a difference between canned pumpkin and fresh pumpkin puree, and looking at the list of ingredients on the back of the can will tell you that. It will probably just say pureed pumpkin or steamed pumpkin puree.
While many recipes call for it, you can absolutely make an outstanding pumpkin pie without evaporated milk. If your recipe calls for one can of evaporated milk (as most do), you can substitute 1 ½ cups of cream or half and half, or a combination of the two. You can also use milk (any kind from whole to skim).
But if you sigh in disappointment when your first bite reveals a bottom crust that's pale and pasty rather than golden brown, try this: Prebake your crust before adding the pumpkin pie filling. Contrary to what you might think, baking the crust again once you've added its filling won't cause it to burn or toughen up.
Many pie recipes call for baking the filled pie at a high temperature (425°F [218°C]) to set the structure of the crust before lowering the oven temperature to finish cooking the filling more gently.
Pumpkin purée is simply cooked and mashed pumpkin.
Pumpkin purée can be homemade with whole pumpkin or canned and sold in grocery stores. Canned pumpkin purée that says “100% pumpkin” on the label may also contain one or more types of winter squash, like butternut, Hubbard, Boston Marrow, and Golden Delicious.
Everything you need to know for making the best pumpkin pie ever! Pumpkin: Make sure you use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling (which includes extra sweeteners and spices). Candied Yams: If you can't find candied yams, then canned yams or sweet potatoes in syrup will work, or you can use all pumpkin.
In this taste test, our Test Kitchen pros found that the biggest name in the pumpkin game does, in fact, make the best canned pumpkin on the market. Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin is a favorite among our culinary crew.
The oven rack may be too close to the top heating element in the oven. This can cause filling to 'skin' and crack as it bakes and to settle slightly when cooling and pull away from the crust. Another possible reason is over-baking. Try reducing cooking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
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