Gramma's Pumpkin Pie

Thekissingcrust
by Thekissingcrust
10 Servings
1 hr 25 min

Pumpkin Pie is that quintessential holiday season dessert that most of us love. I am sure there are hundreds (if not thousands!) of pumpkin pie recipes on the internet - which isn't counting all the recipes in old church cookbooks and the like!


My Gramma is now 91 years old, and has been making this Pumpkin Pie every year for us. All of her kids, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are so excited to get a piece of her pie. "Do you want to know what makes this pie so good?" she'll ask. "Squash - my secret ingredient!"


My Gramma taught me this one tip I have used over and over: cooked winter squash is a perfect substitute for canned pumpkin because the squash is so much more flavorful and sweet than pumpkin. In fact, my Gramma grows a variety of squash called "Buttercup" simply to make into pumpkin pies! If I have extra squash on hand, I always substitute an equal amount of cooked squash for cooked pumpkin. Butternut, Hubbard, Kabocha, and other winter squash varieties will also make a great pumpkin substitute!

The beautiful pumpkin pie!

Adding the spices, eggs, sugars and pumpkin to a bowl.

Whisking in the evaporated milk.

A pie crust of your choosing

Your delicious pumpkin pie!

Recipe details
  • 10  Servings
  • Prep time: 25 Minutes Cook time: 60 Minutes Total time: 1 hr 25 min
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Ingredients

  • 1 9-inch homemade, refrigerated or frozen pie crust shell 
  • 1 3/4 cups cooked pumpkin or squash 
  • 1 egg
  • 3 eggs yolks
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1-1/4 cups evaporated milk
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or:
  • - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • - 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • - 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • -  1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • -  1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions

Place piecrust of choice in 9" pie pan. Freeze for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F and make sure oven rack is in the middle position. Cover crust with a piece of parchment paper and fill almost full with dried beans or pie weights. Cover edges of crust.  Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment paper, cover edges with a few strips of tin foil or another cover to prevent burning, and continue baking for another 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. 
To make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin or squash, egg, egg yolks, sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and evaporated milk. Whisk until smooth, then pour all the filling except about 1/4 cup into the pre-baked crust.
To the remaining filling, add 1/2 tablespoon of cocoa powder and whisk well. Place in baggie, snip corner and use to draw pumpkin shape on pie. 
Bake the pie for 55 to 60 minutes (keeping the strips of tinfoil on the edges of the pie), or until the filling is just set. Let the pie cool on a rack (leave it on the baking sheet) to room temperature, a few hours. Slice or refrigerate until ready to serve.
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