Maple-Cinnamon Pumpkin Pie

If you were following on Monday I shared how to make your own pumpkin puree for your holiday recipes. I wanted to make sure that I gave out a pumpkin pie recipe before Thanksgiving and before my husband and I travel to Nothern California to celebrate with his family.

I would love to share my Mom's pumpkin pie recipe but she says that it's a family secret. So I found one similar thanks to Pinterest and Better Homes and Gardens that deserves to be shared.  I did a test run of it a few weeks ago on some friends and the loved it!  Even a friend of ours who doesn't like pumpkin said how much he liked it. 

 

Now if you are into making your own crust follow the instructions for my husband's pie pastry crust recipe below.

 

I am apologizing in advance for no pictures but I will update this post with a picture tomorrow night after I bake mine.

Pie Pastry Crust

The Story Behind The Crust

I developed an interest for cooking after meeting my foodie wife and falling in love (with her and food) and suddenly I had a new hobby.

 

After many years of store bought pies for the holidays, due to my Grandmother's rheumatoid arthritis I thought I would attempt making a pie with her famous pie crust.  The communication was hard at first but after my Grandmother's encouragement, a few swear words from my mouth, and my Grandpa's "playful banter" suggesting that I should have just bought a pie crust, I have been successful ever since.

I thank my Grandmother for passing this recipe to me and will always continue this tradition.  We (my Grandma and I) hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4-1/2 cup ice water (you may need more)

This recipe will make two pie crusts. Perfect for the holidays if you're making more than one pie, or need a top layer.

In a large mixing bowl, add flour and salt and mix well.  Add shortening to the flour and salt mixture.  Using a hand pastry blender cut shortening into the flour mixture until you have reached the consistency of crumbles. You can do this with two butter knives as well but it takes forever.  Be careful not to over work.  Next, slowly add the ice water to form the dough.  Make sure that the dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball.  This next step is optional.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refridgerate for 30 minutes.  Otherwise, roll the dough out on well floured parchment paper making sure to not over work.  Press the pastry into the pie plate and use a fork to poke holes along the bottom and sides of pie crust. This will get rid of any left over air bubbles and distribute the heat evenly when cooking.


Pumpkin Pie Filling 
Ingredients

16 ounces fresh pumpkin puree

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or a little more if you like cinnamon as much as I do)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt.  Add the lightly beaten eggs and whisk together until combined.  Gradually add the milk until all ingredients are combined well.

Carefully pour the filling into the pastry lined pie plate and gently place it in the oven.  To prevent over browning cover the edge of the pie with foil or use a pie shield.  Bake for 30 minutes and remove the foil or pie shield.  Bake for another 23-30 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. 

Cool on an wire rack for 1-2 hours then serve. You can also serve your pie chilled by placing it in the refridgerator until ready to serve.

Maple Whipped Cream

Ingredients

1 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

In a medium bowl combine whipping cream and maple syrup.  Beat with and electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.