Standard pumpkin pie recipe:
The Ultimate Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
Pie Shell
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
⅓ cup shortening
4 to 5 Tbs ice water
Filling
2 medium sugar pumpkins
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 9-inch pastry for single crust pie
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
⅛ tsp ground allspice
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves
1 Tbs dark rum
1 tsp salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup honey, warmed slightly
½ cup milk
½ cup heavy whipping cream
Whipped cream for garnish
Cinnamon for garnish
chopped pecans for garnish
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cut the pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds and stringy pulp with a large serving spoon or ice cream scoop. Discard the pulp, but save the seeds. Lightly oil the cut surface of the pumpkin and place it cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes, until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork.
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt and use a pastry cutter to cut in the shortening until the dough is crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing the pastry dough with a fork until a ball forms. Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.
Cool the pumpkin for 10 minutes and then peel away the skin. Puree the pumpkin flesh in a blender or food processor in small batches. Put 2 cups of the pumpkin puree in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Add the ginger, cinnamon and salt. Beat in the eggs, rum, honey, milk and cream.
Increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
Roll out the pastry dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer the pastry dough to a pie pan, press it firmly into the bottom and sides of the pie pan, trim it to ½-inch beyond edge of the pan, and flute the edges. Line the shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper, fill the pan with pie weights and bake the crust in a 425°F oven for 10 minutes. Remove the foil or parchment paper and pie weights and bake for an additional 5 minutes, until the crust is just slightly browned.
Pour the filling into pie shell. Bake the pie in a 425°F oven for 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake the pie for an additional 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted 1 inch from edge of the pie comes out clean. Cool the pie on a wire rack for two hours and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Cut the pie into serving pieces, add a large dollop of whipped cream to each slice, and add a light dusting of cinnamon and a pinch of chopped pecans over the whipped cream.
Or, if you want to try something different:
French Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
6 Tbs Butter
3 lb sugar pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and diced
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp Amoretti Madagascar-Bourbon vanilla extract with specks (20 Fold)
¼ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
2 sheets puff pastry, 7½" × 14½"
1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions:
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin and apples, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add the sugar and vanilla extract, and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon. Cover the skillet, and cook until pumpkin and apples are very soft and jammy, but still holding their shape, about 30 minutes. Set the pumpkin mixture aside to cool. When cool, stir in the pecans.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry into a square on a lightly floured surface. Using an 11" tart ring as a guide, cut out a circle and set aside. Roll out the remaining sheet of pastry into a square; then ease the pastry into the tart ring and set it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Trim the edges to overhang by ¼-inch.
Fill the pastry with pumpkin mixture, and lay the second pastry circle over the filling. Carefully tuck the edge of the top pastry between the filling and the bottom pastry and brush the surface with the egg. Fold the overhanging edge of the bottom pastry back over the top pastry. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.