In my family, it's not Thanksgiving unless there are pumpkin pies from Marie Callender's for dessert. Marie Callender's started in my home town, so their pies were always our favorite.
My parents are coming to town next month for Thanksgiving, and my mom and I were lamenting that we would have to do without a Marie Callender's pumpkin pie this year. Sadness.
Or not! I am still on my pie-baking quest, and after a little internet research I found a copy cat Marie Callender's recipe. Hooray!
So on Saturday I gave it a go. I used this crust recipe (with butter) and made a much more respectable mess of my kitchen. (No peeling and slicing of apples required for pumpkin!) Making the crust was so much easier this time. More practice and experience really made a difference.
The consensus: The filling was good! It tasted just how a pumpkin pie should - spicy and rich and creamy. The crust was almost raw on the bottom, though. Next time I think I will blind bake the crust for a few minutes first, or bake the pie on a pizza stone on the lowest rack. I'll let you know if it passes my mom's rigorous taste test next month.
We finished it off for breakfast yesterday morning. Because you know that pumpkin pie tastes best cold from the fridge and first thing in the morning, right?
Pumpkin Pie
(Like Marie used to make.)
1 9-inch pie crust
3 eggs
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
heavy cream + sugar (for whipping)
Prepare the crust and chill it in fridge until it's time to bake. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add the pumpkin and stir to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg together. Stir the spice mixture into the the pumpkin until combined. Stir in the milk and cream until well blended.
Pour into the prepared shell and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45-55 more minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely, then chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Don't forget to smother it in freshly whipped cream!
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Do you know you can purchase them frozen? http://www.walmart.com/ip/Marie-Callender-s-Pumpkin-Pie-36-oz/10811208
ReplyDeleteyes, thank you for the link!
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ReplyDeleteI removed my comment because my fingers were hitting the wrong keys! Anyway, what I was trying to say was that a trick I learned years ago was that before you bake the crust and before adding the filling, brush the crust with eggwhite and then fill it . It keeps the crust from getting soggy. Try it!
ReplyDeleteHugs
i'll try that grammy. thank you!
DeleteThe pie looks beautiful! I noticed, however, that your crust in the bottom is pretty thick. That may have something to do with it not getting cooked through?
ReplyDeleteyes, jennie, i thought that, too. next time i will try rolling it a little thinner. thank you!
Deleteoh my goodness YUM! i'm definitely doing this for thanksgiving - we're having it in DC with friends. yay. toni's first proper american thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteWhy would you purchase MC pies, when your's are sooo wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI bake all my pies on a preheated stone. If I'm baking fruit pies, I lay down foil first to catch all the spilling juice. Did you know that's one way to check that a fruit pie is done? If the juice inside has boiled, and come up out of the holes on top, or from the sides of the pie, then she's good to go!
The other day I woke up and decided: "I'm no longer afraid of pie crusts! I'm going to make one today!" And I did and it was terrible. Sooo...I'm still afraid. Back to buying them from Trader Joes!
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