A Pumpkin-ful Thanksgiving Pie

Last year for Thanksgiving I wanted to make our gracious hosts pumpkin pies. However, I didn't decide this until the last minute and the pies were already bought. So I resorted to making pumpkin bread, which was a huge hit. Then, every time we were invited to a friend's house for dinner, I made a pumpkin pie. I wound up accidentally fusing two different pumpkin pie recipes together, and it came out absolutely fabulous! However, a year has passed, and within that year we moved. So of course I can't find the recipe when Thanksgiving-time arrives! After searching for a different, but similar recipe, I finally settled on this one which is from Libby's®! It came out absolutely amazing! It's not quite the same, but I did use the individual spices instead of last year's pumpkin pie spice. I obviously used my own pumpkin puree instead of the canned stuff! I've never made pumpkin anything with the canned stuff which is probably why I've never come across the recipe before (I hear the recipe is on the back of the can). I also used a prepared graham cracker pie crust. With working 45 hours a week now, and I worked up until the day before Thanksgiving; I didn't have time to make my own pie crust. Next year, I'll plan in advance and make and freeze my own pie crusts. This year we did brunch with one side of the family and dinner with the other, so we brought a homemade pie to each! We also made one for our landlords and kept one for ourselves, which was good because Eoin still absolutely LOVES pumpkin pie!  

 

Yields 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 (9-inch) deep dish pie crust, unbaked (you can use homemade or store bought)
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of homemade pumpkin puree, or 1 (15-ounce) can of canned pumpkin puree
• 1 (12-ounce) can of evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º F.
2. Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.
3. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º F and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes. You can tell the pie is cooked all the way through by inserted a knife into the center. If the knife comes out clean, it's done! Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. You can then serve it or refrigerate it for later use.
   A very important note on this recipe: DO NOT FREEZE! Freezing will cause the filling to separate from the crust.