maggie~hamilton
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2006
- Messages
- 711
You have not lived a full life until you have had fresh-baked pumpkin pie made from real pumpkins! The difference between a real pie and one made with canned pumpkin is like the difference between instant coffee and percolated coffee made from fresh-ground coffee beans!
Choose two fairly small pie pumpkins. Don't use the ones sold for jack-o-lanterns as they are tough and have little flavor. Two five-inch pumpkins will give you a bit more than the amount needed for this recipe, so save the remainder to make pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pudding...!
Wash the pumpkins and cut in half. Scrape out all the seeds and stringy stuff. This is the hardest part of the process. I use a 1-inch carpenter's putty knife, sharpened on my electric sharpening stone and with the sharp corners rounded off. Separate the seeds from the stringy stuff, wash them thoroughly in a colandar, and set aside.
Place the pumpkins shell-side down on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for an hour or so. They will be ready when the shells have turned a golden brown and can be easily pierced with a fork and the meat is soft and tender.
Remove the pumpkins from the oven and and allow to cool to a comfortable handling temperature.
Using a large spoon, scrape all the meat out of the shells and into a large mixing bowl. Discard shells.
Some people tell you to whip the pumpkin meat in a blender or food processor; however, I prefer that it have some texture. Makes it more interesting to the tongue and will remove any doubts about its being fresh! I do whip it with my electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
If you'd love to have fresh-baked pumpkin seeds, and who wouldn't, arrange them in a shallow baking dish, drizzle with peanut oil and salt, and bake on the top rack of the oven while the pies are baking. Keep an eye on them - they will be ready in about 10-12 minutes, when crunchy and golden brown.
TO MAKE THE PIES:
1/2 cup sugar in the raw
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups fresh pumpkin meat
1 and 1/2 cans (12oz) of evaporated milk
Dump it all in large mixing bowl and beat well with electric mixer.
Prepare your favorite nine-inch deep-dish pie shell and pour the pumpkin mixture in.
Bake at 425 F (210 C ) for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F ( 175 C ) and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Choose two fairly small pie pumpkins. Don't use the ones sold for jack-o-lanterns as they are tough and have little flavor. Two five-inch pumpkins will give you a bit more than the amount needed for this recipe, so save the remainder to make pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pudding...!
Wash the pumpkins and cut in half. Scrape out all the seeds and stringy stuff. This is the hardest part of the process. I use a 1-inch carpenter's putty knife, sharpened on my electric sharpening stone and with the sharp corners rounded off. Separate the seeds from the stringy stuff, wash them thoroughly in a colandar, and set aside.
Place the pumpkins shell-side down on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for an hour or so. They will be ready when the shells have turned a golden brown and can be easily pierced with a fork and the meat is soft and tender.
Remove the pumpkins from the oven and and allow to cool to a comfortable handling temperature.
Using a large spoon, scrape all the meat out of the shells and into a large mixing bowl. Discard shells.
Some people tell you to whip the pumpkin meat in a blender or food processor; however, I prefer that it have some texture. Makes it more interesting to the tongue and will remove any doubts about its being fresh! I do whip it with my electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
If you'd love to have fresh-baked pumpkin seeds, and who wouldn't, arrange them in a shallow baking dish, drizzle with peanut oil and salt, and bake on the top rack of the oven while the pies are baking. Keep an eye on them - they will be ready in about 10-12 minutes, when crunchy and golden brown.
TO MAKE THE PIES:
1/2 cup sugar in the raw
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups fresh pumpkin meat
1 and 1/2 cans (12oz) of evaporated milk
Dump it all in large mixing bowl and beat well with electric mixer.
Prepare your favorite nine-inch deep-dish pie shell and pour the pumpkin mixture in.
Bake at 425 F (210 C ) for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F ( 175 C ) and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
