For years I have made only pumpkin pie recipe, Grandma Cottington's (a recipe published in Bon Appetit years back and remaining available on Epicurious) with a store-bought refrigerated pie crust. Since I was going out on a limb making a crust, I thought I would climb out a little further and try another pie filling recipe. This pumpkin pie was either going to be half good or all bad.
I couldn't have been happier with how the dough rolled out and I was beyond ecstatic at the color of the finished pie. Admittedly I am a little dough crimping challenged, however, I sort of liked the rustic look of my finished crust. It was after all 'just' a pumpkin pie, the pie we would like to believe was served in 1621 at the multi-day dinner between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag to celebrate the colony's first successful harvest. (Historical records actually show that pumpkin was served but not pumpkin pie. Such myths we learn in grammar school.)
Yet no matter how happy I was with the dough and look of the pumpkin pie, it would all come down to taste. The pie already had a leg up on its' looks, it just needed to pass the taste test. If you are not a big fan of pumpkin pie, this one could change all of that. This pumpkin pie is scream worthy good (as in When Harry Met Sally scream worthy). In just one bite I knew I had found a pumpkin pie recipe to rival the one I had been making all these years. And hey, even the ding to my culinary ego was averted, at least for the moment.
Traditional pie dough ingredients always call for some sort of fat (butter, lard or a combination of both), flour, salt, and a liquid. The liquid is generally water. In this dough recipe there are two liquids, water and apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar helps to prevent the formation of gluten, which can make for a tough crust. And who wants a tough pie crust?
Rather than use a fork or pastry cutter to make the dough, I used a food processor but was careful to not over mix the dough. I learned while making this pie dough that I did not need to use all of the liquid the recipe called for. I attributed this to the fact that it was a cool, low humid day. Most likely when the weather is warm, the amount of liquid actually used will increase.
The dough came together beautifully. I quickly formed it into a flat disc, wrapped it in plastic wrap and placed it in the refrigerator to rest and chill. The dough needs to rest in the refrigerator for only an hour, but can be kept chilled overnight to allow the flavors to better develop. Because I was making this dough for the first time, I went with overnight chilling period.
This dough has a pliability to it that other doughs I have made in the past didn't (maybe that was one of the reasons for my dough making trepidation). I believe the easy of rolling out the dough had everything to do with the addition of the apple cider vinegar. I waited less than 10 minutes before rolling out the dough on a floured surface. I was amazed at how easy it was to roll out this dough. After wrapping the rolled dough around the rolling pin, I placed it in a ceramic pie plate. Once the dough was fitted into the pie plate, a fork was used to prick holes in the bottom. The rolled out dough was returned to the refrigerator to chill for (at least) 15 minutes. The oven is preheated to 375 degrees. Before the pie shell is put into the oven, it is covered with aluminum foil and filled with dried beans or pie weights. The shell is baked for 15 minutes or until the sides set up. Note: I removed the aluminum foil and weights from the pie shell after 15 minutes and returned the pie shell to the oven for an additional three minutes. While the shell is cooling, the filling is assembled.
I like a pumpkin pie that is highly spiced. The combination of cinnamon, ginger and allspice gives me the taste I am looking for in a pie. While cinnamon is the more dominant spice, the taste of ginger and allspice comes through. What attracted me to this recipe was the use of sweetened condensed milk in addition to the use of whipping cream. So what's a few more calories, if the outcome is a richer, creamier pie?
All of the pie ingredients are combined in a large bowl and whisked together. Instead of using freshly cooked pumpkin as the new recipe I found called for, I used the already prepared pumpkin puree (a 15 ounce can). If it means using canned pumpkin puree makes me a pumpkin pie filling 'cheater', I will live with that status.
The pie filling is poured into the pre-baked shell. In a pre-heated 350 degree oven it is baked for about 1 hour (or until center is set). There was a very slight jiggle left in the center of the pie after 60 minutes, however, when it cooled, it had the perfect texture. The pie is cooled on a rack for at least 30 minutes. Served at room temperature or chilled and with or without freshly whipped cream, it is a rich, creamy delicious pie. It took only one bite of this pie for me to know that this recipe was a keeper, but of course, I needed a few more bites for me to be certain.
Pumpkin Pie (crust from Four and Twenty Blackbirds and pie is an adaptation of a recipe shared by Nancy Fuller)
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup cold water
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup ice
Pie
A 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup whipping cream (plus whipping cream for serving)
A 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon Saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
Directions
For Crust:
1. Combine water, cider vinegar and ice in a large measuring cup and set aside.
2. Stir together flour, salt and sugar in medium-large bowl and pour into food processor.
3. Add butter and process until pea sized pieces of butter remain.
4. Add 2 Tablespoons of ice water mixture and pulse slightly. Continue to add more of the ice water mixture 1 to 2 Tablespoons at a tie until dough begins to come together in a ball (there may be a few straggling pieces, that is okay it will all come together.)
5. Remove dough from food processor, shape into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight to allow flavors to develop.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
7. When chilled, remove dough and roll out on a floured surface. Transfer to a 9 inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Pierce the dough all over with a fork. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
8. Line the crust with foil, fill with dried beans or pie weights and bake until the sides are set, about 15 minutes.
9. Remove foil and beans.
10. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees.
For Pie:
1. Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until well blended.
2. Pour filling into pre-baked shell.
3. Bake at 350 degrees in the center of the oven for 1 hour or until filling is set in the center.
4. Place pie on rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
5. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Note: Serve with whipped cream.
I can sometimes be a creature of habit which is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it can be a good thing, with sometimes being the operative word here. There are some habits I wish would return to more of a daily occurring habit (like running) and there are other habits I wish I could completely rid myself of (like drinking diet soda). But I am, as they say, still a work in progress, so shifts are still possible. Some of my habits fall into what I call the perception category. I can have a blind eye to some things and some people, meaning, no matter what (good or bad), my opinions get 'stuck' instead of remain 'fluid'. Rather than look for or even see changes, I look for the things that validate my own perceptions. Because for various reasons I don't want my perceptions to change (self-preservation, fear, and forgetting are amongst some of the reasons explaining my unwillingness to change these perceptions), with 'don't' being the operative word here.
Admittedly staying in the 'stuck' place is not fair, to anyone or anything, including me. More importantly, this inflexibility in my own thinking has, at times, meant that my expectations of others don't match the expectations I have for myself. Yet, every now and then something happens that causes a seismic shift in my thinking, in my perceptions. It can be as simple as having a conversation with someone or reading a book or as difficult as doing some soul searching. The concept of 'we see what we want to' is not a new one, but it is one that can have a significant impact on our personal happiness. Whether it is by divine intervention or an internal or external push, when one of these seismic shifts happens I feel fortunate. Fortunate not only that it happened, but even more fortunate that I didn't let the opportunity slip by (again). No one ever said change was easy, because sometimes the best things that happen to us aren't easy.
