Basic Pumpkin Pie

recipe photo

Be sure to watch Karen make her flaky, delicious pie crust in her video recipe, since a perfect crust is notoriously hard to learn on paper. Karen also reminds us to use fresh spices whenever possible, like freshly ground nutmeg and fresh ginger that's ground with a microplane, for the richest flavors.

Ingredients

Crust

  • Generous 2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • ½ cup of ice water
Note: Mix flour and salt. Cut in one whole stick of butter. Using your hands, rub the squares into the flour to form small peas. Cut in the second stick of butter and use your hands to coat them, making larger peas. Do not over-handle. Sprinkle only enough ice water to bring the mixture together. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then remove and roll out, using lots of flour to create a non-stick surface. Place the dough in the pan, flute the edges and add filling.

Filling

  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups pumpkin, fresh or canned
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves
  • 12⁄3 cup half-and-half
Note: If you're using fresh pumpkin, first steam or roast it in oven. When tender, chop, drain and blend to make a puree. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all the above ingredients for the filling. Pour filling into the pie crust and bake at 425degrees about 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake until just barely set.