How to Make a Pumpkin Pie
A Classy Pie
One of the things I enjoy most is having the opportunity to teach anything cooking to a group of people. The energy and love I exchange with everybody is just magical.
I had the opportunity to give an exhibition class at my local Williams Sonoma about how to make a Pumpkin Pie. Between the few pies I had to make previous to the event and the hand pies I made to bring to the attendants, my home smelled like pure holiday season, even in the beginning of September. Again, magical!
If you’re reading because you were part of that class, thank you very much for being there with me. If you are reading this because you are a follower of my blog and want to make my recipe for Pumpkin Pie, thank you very much for following my journey. In any case, you guys always bring me the right inspiration for me to continue creating for you.
Let the season of gratefulness, warm, spice and everything nice begin!
Recipe notes
Use as reference my “A Pie Guide” post when working with your dough.
Remember that you can omit the cardamom completely and also add a bit of all spice if you like it.
Below are also the steps to make the hand pies if you want to experiment with that presentation.
I used these fall themed pie cutters from Williams Sonoma (not sponsored BTW) to create my decorations but you can use your favorite design.
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Pie Dough
◯ Dough – 1 full pie dough recipe
Pumpkin Filling
◯ Pumpkin puree – 2 cups
◯ Whole Eggs – 2
◯ Egg yolk - 1
◯ Brown Sugar – ¾ cup + 1 TBSP
◯ Coconut milk – 1 cup
◯ Ground cinnamon – 2 Tsp
◯ Ground ginger – 1 ½ Tsp
◯ Ground nutmeg – ½ Tsp
◯ Ground cloves – ¼ Tsp
◯ Cardamom seeds (see notes) – ⅛ Tsp
◯ Freshly squeezed lemon juice - 1 TBSP
◯ One egg, a teaspoon of water, ½ teaspoon of regular or almond milk and a bit of oil for the egg wash.
Details
Yield:
a full 9” pie
Total time:
3 hours or 2 hours plus chilling dough overnight
Active time:
1 hour
Baking time:
40 minutes
Equipment:
food processor, baking sheet (a couple if making hand pies), 9” flute tart pan or regular pie dish, pumpkin design pie cutters, baking spray, aluminum foil
Steps
To make the pumpkin filling:
In a medium bowl mix pumpkin, eggs, egg yolk, brown sugar and coconut milk. Add all the spices and mix until everything is well incorporated. Add lemon juice and mix once more. Set in the fridge to chill while you work your dough.
To assemble the pie:
Preheat oven to 400°. Place a baking sheet inside the oven.
Prepare your bottom dough according to the instructions on the “A Pie Guide” post where I talk about how to make a pie.
Freeze the dough for 20 minutes and then place it in the oven and blind bake for 10 minutes. In the meantime cut your decorations, place them in the fridge and prepare your filling.
Take out bottom crust and pour filling inside the crust, careful not to bring it to the edge to prevent overflowing. Arrange your decorations as desired. Place pie in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare your egg wash by combining a beaten egg with a teaspoon of water, ½ teaspoon of any milk (preferably regular or almond) and ¼ teaspoon vegetable oil. Brush all the surface of your top crust and sprinkle plenty of sugar on top. Cover the border decorations with the foil tents, according to the recommendations on the “A Pie Guide” post where I talk about how to make a pie.
Place pie on the heated baking sheet. Bring to oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until dough is golden brown and filling seems set through the edges of the pie. Remember to check your pie on the first 20 minutes to make sure everything is nice and in place. If decorations are falling this is your opportunity to carefully rearrange or press them into place. Cover them again and continue baking. Remove foil tent during the last 10 minutes of baking to let that top crust get golden and caramelized.
After baked let it cool down completely. You may serve at this point. To reheat, place pie in oven and start heating it until 400°. Let it in oven 5 to 10 minutes after reaching the set temperature, making sure is doesn’t burn on the top.
Pumpkin Hand Pies
To make the hand pies that we shared after the class, make the filling exactly the same way but use only ¼ cup of coconut milk. Also, preheat oven to 400° and place a baking sheet inside it.
With a 3” round cookie cutter cut two circles. In one of them place a teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture in the center. Using a small cookie cutter cut a design in the middle of the second circle (alternatively make a slit on top after covering the filling). Place it on top of the filling and using a fork, seal the border by pressing it. Place each hand pie on a parchment paper already placed on a baking sheet. Place sheet on freezer for 20 minutes.
Make the egg wash and sugar steps. Careful not to get burn, bring parchment paper with frozen pies to the hot baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and let them cool down.
