The journey from pumpkin to pie

This year I decided to ditch the canned pumpkin and try my hand at making a pumpkin pie from scratch.
The first step is picking the right pumpkin. There's a great pumpkin site here to research all the different varieties. There are several pumpkins that are good for making pumpkin pie, but I chose to go with the Jarrahdale.



The kids were so excited when we cut open the pumpkin. At first they were a little hesitant to get their hands in the goo, but before long they were digging for seeds like they were gold.




We put the seeds aside to roast and placed the pumpkin in the oven.



The pumpkins produce a lot of water while baking so it is important to place them in a baking dish instead of a pan otherwise there will be a real mess in the bottom of your oven. Place the pumpkin skin up, poke skin with a fork several times, place in the oven at 350 for 1.5 hours (a little less or more depending on size).



When it is done a fork should be able to easily pierce through the skin.



Then scoop out the flesh and drain in a mesh colander until most of the water has been removed and then puree with a hand blender or food processor.





When it has a nice, smooth consistency then you can start to assemble your pie. This is the recipe that I used:

2 c. pumpkin
2 eggs
1.5 c. heavy cream
1 T. flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
1/8 t. cloves

beat eggs in a mixing bowl, add pumpkin and mix well. Mix in all other ingredients one at a time stirring well and then pour into your pie crust.

Crust recipe:
1/2 c. butter or shortening (whichever you prefer)
1.5 c. whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour (which you can purchase in bulk from here if you live in the Triad. Their flour is the organic King Arthur flour that you would buy in the store, but it is MUCH cheaper to buy it directly from the mill.)
1/2 t. salt
2 t. sugar
1/2 c. ice cold water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter or shortening, then crumble with fingers until very fine. Add water a little bit at a time stirring rapidly with a fork until it forms a big clump. Form into a disk and refrigerate for an hour. Roll out dough about 2 inches wider than your pie dish, fold it gently in half to transfer, then unfold and pinch the outside.

....back to the pie...Place aluminum foil over crust to prevent from burning and bake at 425 for 15 minutes then turn down to 350 and cook for an additional hour. Remove when a toothpick comes out clean when placed an inch from the crust. Don't worry if the center is still a little jiggly- it will set as it cools. Place in refrigerator overnight. The flavors will be enhanced and it helps the texture as well (just my opinion).



Then get a plate, fork and some whipped cream and enjoy some homemade goodness! We had so much fun making this pie and even though it is time consuming, it is actually quite easy to make. This is definitely going to be a new Thanksgiving tradition for the Vaughn family:)