Best Pumpkin Pie Recipe from Scratch
Description
This delicious homemade pumpkin pie recipe combines a flaky all-butter crust with a spiced pumpkin filling made with just 9 simple ingredients. Plus, it has a secret ingredient that is key to making the canned pumpkin filling extra creamy.
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Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 1¼ cups (154g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt (or ¾ Diamond Crystal)
- 10 tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pats
- 3 –6 tablespoons ice water
Filling
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (about 2 cups) (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt (or ¾ Diamond Crystal)
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup (157g) mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup (80g) whole milk
- 3 large eggs
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Process flour and salt in a food processor. Scatter butter over flour; pulse until mixture resembles cornmeal, 7–12 pulses. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl.
- Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water over flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, mix dough together, pressing against sides of bowl, until a rough dough comes together. If it's still too dry, drizzle in additional water, by tablespoon, just until it comes together.
- Dump shaggy dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a 4-inch disk, then wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 3 days).
- Generously flour a work surface. Unwrap dough and lightly dust with flour. Roll dough out into an ⅛-inch thick 13-inch round.If dough is too firm, let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before rolling out.
- Fold dough in quarters; place corner in center of a 9-inch pie plate. Gently unfold dough to cover plate, using one hand to pick up edges of dough and an index finger to press dough into corners and up sides. Trim dough overhang to ½-inch then tuck edges under and crimp using thumbs and pointer fingers. (*see note on crimping.) Dough edges should be somewhat one top of pan edges (to avoid shrinking during baking).
- Refrigerate dough-lined pie plate for 20 minutes. Prick bottom, sides and corners with a fork. Line dough with a piece of foil, pressing it firmly into corners and sides, and folding over rim. Prick foil about a dozen places with a fork. Refrigerate shell for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Heat oven to 400ºF (204C) with rack set in lowest position.
- Place pie plate on a baking sheet. Bake shell until edges are set and starting to brown, pressing down on foil with an oven mitt to deflate when it starts to puff up (this happens for me around 8 or 10 minutes—continue deflating every minute or so after that) 15–20 minutes total.
- Remove foil and continue to bake just until shell is light golden brown, about 10 more minutes.
Filling
- Keep oven heated to 400ºF (204ºC).
- Process pumpkin, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and pepper in a food processor for 1 minute. Transfer pumpkin mixture to a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a sputtering simmer, cook, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk mayonnaise and milk into pumpkin and bring to a low simmer; keep warm until the pie shell comes out of the oven.
- Process eggs in now-empty food processor until foamy, about 5 seconds. With processor running, slowly stream in half of the warm pumpkin mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed, add remaining pumpkin and process 30 seconds more.
- Carefully pour warm filling into warm pie shell, making sure to fill just below edge of crust so it doesn't overflow. (You will likely have excess filling, *see notes.)
- Bake pie until filling is puffed, dry-looking, and center slightly wiggles when gently shaken, about 25 minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack; cool completely before slicing and serving.
- Serve with whipped cream.
Notes
Storage: Allow the pie to cool completely at room temperature before wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and storing in the refrigerator. Pumpkin pie will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Pumpkin pie is best served without 2 days of baking.
Freezing pumpkin pie isn't ideal. But of you must, here's how to do it: Once the pie has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic, and place it in a large resealable freezer bag and place it in the freezer. When you’re ready to serve, thaw the pie in the refrigerator overnight. Pumpkin pie can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Food Processor: If you don't have a food processor, you can use a blender for the filling and a pastry cutter for the pie dough.
*Crimping: make sure the crimped edges of the pie crust are on top of the pie plate edge. This will help keep the crust from shrinking and falling down the edges of the pie plate during baking.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: I recommend using the spices I have listed in the ingredient list. But if you're in a pinch or would prefer to use pumpkin pie spice, use scant 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice.
*Excess Filling: I usually just discard the extra filling because, in my opinion, it's not worth the risk of overflowing. However, you can try to add some of it to the pie after the first 5 minutes of baking (it's less likely to overflow once the pie has been transferred to the oven). Alternatively, you can save it for mini hand pies or mini pies.
Avoid Cracking: Mayonnaise should keep the filling from cracking, but for extra precaution, don't over bake it and let it cool slowly at room temperature (aka don't try to cool it quickly in the fridge).
Chilling: All the chilling might seem annoying, and maybe it is, but it’s key for creating a crisp and flaky pie crust. Don't skip it. And don't try to rush the chilling in the freezer. For the best results do all of the chilling in the refrigerator. This is also safest when using glass pie plates.
Mayonnaise: use a standard mayonnaise such as Hellman's or Kraft. Do not use Miracle Whip.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 400kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 6gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 313mgFiber: 2.5gSugar: 22g
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