And here I thought Pie Day was March 14th!
Every day has been pie day lately. I had a slice of pumpkin pie for breakfast a week ago, and felt better all day than I had in ages. Same the next day. The 3rd day I ate something different for breakfast and felt rough, so, back to pie! I thought I'd been eating healthy, but there must be something I was missing. And until I narrow down what that is, a teeny wedge of pumpkin pie will be accompanying my morning
coffee every day.
The pie recipe, before alterations, was listed as a Marie Callender's Copycat recipe:
15oz can Pumpkin
3 Eggs
3/4c Whole
Milk
1/4c Cream
1/4c Brown Sugar
1/2c White Sugar
1
tsp Cinnamon
1/4tsp Nutmeg
1/4tsp Cloves
1/4tsp Ginger
1/4tsp Salt
Whisk all ingredients together, and pour into a pie shell. Bake @ 400F for 15 min. Lower temperature to 350F and bake 35 min, or until it passes the knife test.
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My alterations:
-Skip the nutmeg. I don't like the aftertaste it leaves.
-Add 1/4tsp maple extract, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
-Use home-grown squash. Any kind with orange flesh works well. I haven't tested the other colors. For that matter, you could use mashed sweet potatoes, mashed carrots, or probably a whole list of other things. 2 cups of squash, or 1 pound, depending on how you want to measure it.
-Tailor the sugar to suit the squash. Some might not need any, some might need a little more. I like to leave the eggs and sugar out for last, then taste the batter and decide if it needs sugar, and how much, starting with the brown sugar. If the squash is sweet
enough but needs more complexity, I might add a touch of molasses instead. If the squash is overly sweet, I might add a pinch of lemon zest. That doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
-Pre-bake the pie shell. It doesn't say that in the original recipe, but I found the crust cooked much more evenly if pre-baked. Protect the edges so they don't overcook, etc.
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