Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie with Fresh Pumpkin Purée

Thanksgiving means pumpkin pie. In our house we typically prefer tarts to pies , but on Thanksgiving we give into our pie cravings.  When we make pumpkin pie, we typically make our own pumpkin purée. It has a ton of flavor. You can enter do this or if you don’t have the time, start with store bought pumpkin purée. We recommend not using pie filling or adding decorative crusts to the top of your pie, as that typically works best for fruit pies like blueberry or apple and can get too wet and soggy. As our friend Kelly says, “Don’t cover the custard!”

To make your own pumpkin purée, all you need is a pie pumpkin. This is different than a carving pumpkin. They typically go by the name of Luxury Pie Pumpkin or Sugar Pie Pumpkins. Lay the pumpkin on its side and cut off the very top, including the stem, and bottom. Set it back upright and cut it straight down the center. Scoop out the seeds, and lay the pumpkin halves (flesh side down) in a large roasting pan. Add about ½” of water to the bottom of the pan and roast at 375F until the pumpkin is easy to pierce with a knife or fork. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Once the pumpkin is cool, scrape out the flesh and put in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Purée until smooth and substitute for canned pumpkin in all your favorite recipes. We also love to use it in our pumpkin spice cocktail.

On the rare occasions that we make a pie, we always use this deep ruffled pie dish (it’s currently on sale). We’ve been really happy with this dish and highly recommend it. The ceramic cooks the crust very evenly, and Clayton thinks it’s the classiest looking pie dish around.