A Classic Pumpkin Pie (with one teeny tiny secret ingredient). I have made pumpkin pie for my family for years for Thanksgiving. Even the years I messed up the crust, drove to the grocery store at midnight & had to buy a last minute frozen one – I made this pumpkin pie. This is my classic, pumpkin pie that I make for my family every single year & I cannot wait to share it with you.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pumpkin pie filling is so amazing because it is so easy to make. I promise you you absolutely won’t mess this up. Dump every ingredient in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
Sweetened condensed milk is thick and sweet to lighten up the pumpkin pie filling. There are eggs, this is how the filling sets kind of like a custard. But my most favorite part of pumpkin pie is the spice blend. Because there is so much sweetness going on in this pumpkin filling, I like to hit the really warm spices. Ground ginger is a classic. But years ago, I made Sally’s Baking Addiction Pumpkin Pie with the “secret” addition of ground black pepper, and I have never gone back As my pie has evolved, the 1/8tsp of black pepper has always stayed.
I promise you cannot taste it the way you think. It adds to the warmth and the fall flavor and stops the pie filling from being overly sweet. I love it.
Pie Crust
I know pie crust can be intimidating or stressful. And if you don’t have the time, buy that frozen pie crust. Suddenly pumpkin pie will be the easiest pie you have ever made in your life!
But if you do want to make the pie crust, I have the recipe below. I also have all of the resources for you to get it right over here in my Homecook’s Guide: How To Flaky Pie Crust.
As for the decoration, I use all of the excess pie dough from trimming my pie to roll out. It is an extra step, so I often stick to a regular crimped edge. Next, I used some leaf shaped cookie cutters to press into all of the excess. I lay them all around the edges of the crust and kind of press the stem part into the crust to make sure it stays. Chill the unbaked crust another 30 minutes & follow the rest of the steps to the recipe for baking.
If you love pumpkin pie and have always wanted a go to, Classic Pumpkin Pie recipe, I think this one is perfect. Let me know in the comments what you think or if you tried it out. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. You can also find me on Instagram @quartersoulcrisis – I love hearing from you.
Classic Pumpkin Pie
Equipment
- 9-inch Pie Plate
Ingredients
- 15 oz can pumpkn puree
- 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1/3 cup condensed milk
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 & 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 egg beaten for pie crust
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 400°: We are baking on the middle rack. Make sure pie crust is sitting out on counter.
- Make Spice Mix: In a small bowl, add ¾ tsp salt, 1 & ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp each ground cloves & ground nutmeg, ⅛ tsp ground black pepper. Mix it up with a fork. Make Filling: In a large mixing bowl, add pumpkin puree, dark brown sugar, eggs & egg yolk, ⅓ cup condensed milk, ½ cup heavy cream. Whisk together until combined and smooth, about 2 mins. Add spice mix to bowl & whisk to combine. Let sit in fridge while you roll out pie dough & parbake.
- Roll Pie Dough: Dust work space with flour and roll out your pie dough. Use rolling pin and gently roll from the center upward a few times. Turn the dough a quarter turn. Keep doing this. After 4 turns, lightly flour any sticky butter parts. Flip the dough. Roll again from center upward and turn. Repeat process until dough is rolled out enough to fit into your pie dish.
- Par Bake: Trim any rough edges and gently lay pie dough into dish crimp edges or decorate*. Pie dough does need to rest, so set it in the fridge at least 5-10 more minutes. In a small bowl whisk egg & splash heavy cream. Carefully brush over pie crust and edges. Lightly line pie dough with parchment or foil & add pie weights or substitute*. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Carefully remove from oven & carefully remove pie weights.
- Bake Pie: Lower oven temp to 350°. Fill warm crust with pie filling. Add to oven on middle rack & bake for 40-50 minutes. Bake until the pie is lightly puffed up, and has a slight jiggle in the center. Remove from oven and carefully let sit on wire rack to cool. It will need at least 3 hours up to overnight to fully set. Serve with whipped cream.
Home Cook’s Notes
- Par-baking calls for pie-weights or beans. I like to use a whole bag of white sugar in tin foil. I learned this years ago and it is the most efficient way. Cover your pie crust in tin foil, fill with sugar. Bake according to instructions. The sugar can be used multiple times, and even still used as sugar. Once the sugar is golden, it is roasted sugar and can be used in recipes as well!
- Decor: for the leaf decorating, I used these leaf cookie cutters. I rolled out the excess dough after trimming, but you can also double the crust recipe and use the entire separate crust to cut leaves.
- The pie dough can be made 1-2 days in advance and chill in the refrigerator. Let sit out on the counter top for about 30 minutes before rolling out. Pie dough can also be frozen for 30-60 days. Let thaw in the refrigerator and then set out for 30 minutes before rolling.
- You can also freeze a par-baked pie crust as well as a not-yet baked, but rolled out pie crust shaped into your pie dish. These can be frozen 30 days & baked right from the freezer.
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