This week was Thanksgiving, and although we may not celebrate it here in the UK, it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the delights!
I worked with a girl from Coral Springs in Florida a few years back, and the first year working with us saw Thanksgiving come round and in she came with these individual pumpkin pies.
Obviously, I had heard of pumpkin pie many times before (being an avid fan of Friends and of course from the nostalgic Christmas Song by Brenda Lee!) But I had never tried it…so I was intrigued.
Off to the shop I went on my way home armed with my miniature pie, to buy some squirty cream (recommend by my friend).
I really didn’t know what to expect…surely a pumpkin pie is a savoury dish?! Why do I need squirty cream?!
But…always up for trying something new, I gave it a go. And wow…it was absolutely incredible.
It definitely gave Christmas flavours with the cloves, ginger and cinnamon and the pastry offered a bit of crunch. The texture of the filling itself is hard to describe.
Since trying it, I have made it myself several times and the recipe is super super simple…if you can get hold of the pumpkin puree.
The best recipe to follow is “Libby’s famous pumpkin pie recipe” which can be found on the back of the tin…however, the cost of Libby’s on Amazon has become a bit ridiculous! You can find different brands of pumpkin puree in Supermarkets – this year I got some from Sainsbury’s!
But here is Libby’s recipe to follow that I stick to every year and it never fails to taste incredible!
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup of granulated sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 tin of Pumpkin puree
1 tin of Evaported milk (I used just short of the whole tin…about 340ml to be exact!)
1 sheet of ready to roll shortcrust pastry
METHOD
PREHEAT your oven to 220°
MIX together the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl.
BEAT the eggs in a large bowl.
STIR in the pumpkin puree and the sugar-spice mixture (I use a hand held whisk for this)
GRADUALLY stir in the evaporated milk and whisk together.
GREASE a pie dish (mine is like a 20cm round standard depth pie dish) and lay your pastry into the dish. Be sure to press the pastry in to the bottom corners to avoid air bubbles!
I like to trim the excess pastry from around the top and pattern it with a fork, but it’s up to you! I also prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork lightly…I think it’s supposed to help in some way!!
POUR in your pumpkin pie mixture and place it in the oven.
AFTER 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 170° and bake for another 40-50 minutes. I often find it is worth checking the pie after 40 minutes and checking the centre with a knife. If it comes out clean, then you are good to go!
REMOVE from the oven and cool for at least 2 hours before eating.
SMOTHER in squirty cream and tuck in!
If you haven’t before, give it a go!! I love to eat it any time throughout November and December as it is just so comforting and tastes like Autumn and Christmas all rolled into one!
Written by Kelly Usher-Tyers, Marketing Manager for The Country Girls UK