Great Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is one of my all-time favorites. It’s rich, flavorful, and the spices immediately transport me to Thanksgiving with my family. I was lucky that this recipe happened to coincide with a Thanksgiving potluck at my work. The recipe began with blind baking a Flaky Pie shell in a 375-degree oven. While the crust was baking I went to work on the custard filling. I whisked the spice blend (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt) into eggs, heavy cream, brown and granulated sugar. Once the mixture was thoroughly blended, I put it through a strainer into a saucepan and added the pumpkin puree. I cooked the mixture until it was slightly thick and registered 150-degrees. I then poured the hot custard into the warm pie shell and returned it to the oven to bake for 40 minutes until the pie was barely set and jiggled in the middle. I let the pie cool overnight and I made some vanilla bourbon whipped cream to top it. I think that this pumpkin pie was not only delicious, it had a warm, spicy kick to it. The texture was not as creamy as a store-bought pie, but the crust and flavor made up for it (I even got a few comments at the potluck that it was much better than store bought). Overall, I will be making this again for next year’s Thanksgiving!

On deck: Roasted Butternut Squash-Onion Pie