Tasty Tuesday: Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is an all-American dessert with a history going back hundreds of years. The pilgrims, though their "pies" were different from ours, wrote about the abundance of the fruit:

"For pottage and puddings and custard and pies,
Our pumpkins and parsnip are common supplies:
We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon,
If it were not for pumpkins, we should be undoon" 

Who doesn't love pumpkin pie with its pumpkiness and creamy goodness? Well, I don't. But my family does. This pie was for them.

Pie Crust 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable shortening                                          1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour                                            1/2 cups cold water

Directions:

1. Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork.
2. Roll gently on a floured pastry cloth to about an inch larger than pie plate. Fold carefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan.

Whip up a single batch of pie dough. I love my food processor for this since it does all the work, but you can also mix it in a bowl.

Now isn't that pretty? Are you sure we need to add the filling?? Oh, all right.


Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin                                            1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 

1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk                1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

2 large eggs                                                                1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon                                        1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.

2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Don't forget to stop and pose for a picture.

I love the spices in fall baking.

We always bake up that extra pie dough (here with added sprinkles.) Don't want to waste that yumminess!

Top your slice with a big ol' dollop of Cool Whip and you're set to go!