Fresh Pumpkin Pie Recipe

I understand the appeal of whipping up a pumpkin pie using canned pumpkin pie filling and a ready-made crust.

Really, I do.

It’s fast, it’s easy, and sometimes you just want a pie and you want it now. But with pumpkins in season and family gatherings soon to come, making pumpkin pie from scratch using homemade crust and freshly pureed sugar pie pumpkins straight from the patch, makes fast seem less important.

For those not accustomed to baking pies from scratch, pumpkin pie is a great place to start. Good pie crust may take a little practice to get just right, but unlike many pre-made shells, from-scratch crust is flaky, tender and will actually enhance the flavor of pies.

Once the crust is in order, preparing fresh pumpkin for seasonal pies is as easy as...well, it’s really easy. Check out this article on preparing fresh pumpkin puree for same day use or for freezing for future baking. A three pound pumpkin will provide enough puree for one pie. Resist the urge to use pumpkins larger than five or six pounds for baking. Larger pumpkins tend to be less flavorful and more fibrous, which isn’t so good when trying to dazzle the troops by using fresh pumpkin. As long as you’ve got the food processor out, consider preparing multiple batches of pumpkin puree and freezing for future pies. Frozen pumpkin puree holds its flavor very well and once you get started, scratch-made pumpkin pie may become a habit that extends beyond the season.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

• 1 1/3 cup flour
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 stick butter, frozen and cubed
• 2 ounces ice water
• 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves

Combine flour, salt, sugar and butter in food processor and pulse until pea-sized clumps form.

Add water a little at a time and pulse until dough just holds together.

Remove dough from processor, form into a ball.

Wrap ball in plastic wrap, press into a flat disc and refrigerate at least one hour.

On a floured surface, roll dough into a flat circle large enough to cover a 8" or 9" pie pan, overlapping the edges of the pan.

Lay crust in pie pan, pinch the edges to flute and trim excess.

Combine pumpkin, cream, eggs, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and cloves in a mixing bowl and mix well.

Pour into crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce to bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Cool completely before serving.