This Thanksgiving, for the first time in my thirty year long pie-eating career, I had a pumpkin pie breakthrough. Each year of my life someone has baked one and I always partake, unable to resist what I’d imagined and build up in my mind as a creamy, airy manifestation of pure pumpkin flavor. And year after year, I’m met with disappointing first bites that are some variation of overly-spiced, too-sweet, oily, or lumpy-textured pies (many of which are made by otherwise great cooks). And so, I’d come to accept that what I hoped pumpkin pie to be was not actually what it was.

But for Thanksgiving this year, the pumpkin pie gods were smiling down on me.  As the only guest at the table who has logged over two months in pastry school and done some time in a real restaurant kitchen, I was put in charge of desserts. In my role as pastry chef of Thanksgiving, I seized the opportunity to create the pumpkin pie of my dreams, with the help of this book.

This pie is simply beautiful for what it is and, just as importantly, for what it isn’t. The recipe is uniquely designed to allow the sweet mellow flavor and creamy, velvet texture of pumpkin to rule, banishing heavy spices and condensed milk trickery that are all too common in the pies that grace our tables each Thanksgiving. This beautiful custard, layered upon a thin bed of ground pecans and gingersnaps and an outrageous flaky, all-butter crust, closes the meal with a reminder of what fall flavor truly should be, a subtle remainder after a meal of over-pronounced flavors.

Great Pumpkin Pie
Adapted (slightly) from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Pie and Pastry Bible

I would probably follow Rose Levy Beranbaum over the side of a cliff if she told me that it would help me make better crust, but there is one point on which she and I do not agree. In her recipe, she urges the use of canned pumpkin, while I am waging a campaign to convert people over to making their own fresh puree for pumpkin recipes. My contention is that there is really no comparison when it comes to flavor and texture – the fresh blows away the canned. Her point, and it is definitely valid, is that the consistency of canned pumpkin is, well, consistent, and as a writer of recipes, this is an important factor. Still, if you make your puree the right way, you can avoid this issue. Click here to go to my instructions for making pumpkin puree, and be sure to follow the part about allowing excess liquid to drain off, which will ensure that you get a thick puree that is closer to canned in consistency. Also, don’t miss Ms. Beranbaum’s note at the end of this recipe concerning pumpkin pie baking time and cracking.

For Crust:

1/4 cup or 1 scant oz. whole pecans
1 Single flaky pie crust (click here for recipe)
4-5 gingersnap cookies, crushed
1/4 cup pecans

For Filling:

1 3/4 cups or 15 oz. unsweetened pumpkin puree (click here to learn how to make this, or use high-quality, organic canned pumpkin)
3/4 cup or 5.75 oz. light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup or 5.6 oz milk
2/3 cup or 5.5 oz heavy cream
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Special Equipment: A 9 inch pie plate, preferably the Pyrex or ceramic kind with extra space for a crust set down into the pie a bit, a small cookie cutter for decorating (optional)

On a floured pastry cloth or between 2 sheets of lightly floured plastic wrap, roll the pastry 1/8-inch thick and large enough to cut an even 13-inch circle. Use an expandable flan ring or a cardboard template as a guide to cut out the circle. Transfer it to the pie pan and tuck the overhanging pastry under itself. If desired, reroll scraps, chill and cut out decorative designs such as leaves. (Bake them separately at 400°F. for 6 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, brushed with milk and sprinkled with sugar in the raw. Remove to a rack to cool.)

Cut the border into a checker board design or use a form or spoon to make a flat but decorative border. If you are using a pie plate that has space for a fluted crust set down into the dish, then this is acceptable (as i’ve done in these photos). Do not make a raised border or extend it over the sides of the pan as it will not hold up so close to the heat source. After pouring pumpkin filling into the crust, push every other checkerboard border well over toward the filling or it tends to flip over against the pie pan. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for one up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. at least 15 minutes before baking time.

***Bake directly on floor of oven or have the oven shelf at the lowest level and place an oven stone or cookie sheet on it before preheating.

Process the gingersnaps and pecans until finely ground. Sprinkle them over the bottom of the pie crust and using your fingers and the back of a spoon, press them into the dough to coat the entire bottom, going about 1/2-inch up the sides.

In a small, heavy saucepan, stir together the pumpkin, sugar, spices and salt. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a sputtering simmer, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick and shiny.

Scrape the mixture into a food processor, fitted with the metal blade, and process for 1 minute. With the motor on, add the cream and milk, processing until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the work bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing just to incorporate, for about 5 seconds after each addition. Add the vanilla along with the last egg.

Pour the mixture into the pie shell and set it directly on the floor of the oven. Bake the pie for 50 to 60 minutes or just until a knife inserted between sides and center will come out almost clean. The filling will have puffed and the surface dulled except for the center (The filling shakes like jelly when moved. This will happen before it has finished baking so it cannot be used as a firm indication of doneness; conversely, if it does not have this consistency you can be sure that it is not baked adequately.) If the crust appears to be darkening too much on the bottom, raise the pie to the next rack. After 30 minutes, protect the edges with a foil ring.

Place the baked pie on a rack to cool. When cool, the surface will be flat. If you have made decorative designs, place them on now.

Store: 3 days,room temperature.

Understanding

The crust border should not be too raised, nor extend past the pie plate because baking so close to the heat source, and at the lower temperature required for the custard filling, the border would not set quickly enough and would droop over the edge and break off. Since it does not extend past the edge, it is not necessary to shield the edges until 30 minutes instead of the usual 15 for a one crust pie.

Characteristic star-burst cracking is the result of overbaking. If desired, cover any crack(s), should they develop, with baked pastry cut-outs.