Cookbook:Pumpkin Pie I

| Dessert | American cuisine | Holiday

Pumpkin pie is a traditional American and Canadian holiday dessert. It consists of a pumpkin-based custard baked in a single pie shell. The pie is traditionally served with whipped cream.

Ingredients

 * 2 cups (480 ml) milk, scalded
 * 2 cups (450 g) cooked and puréed pumpkin (or plain canned pumpkin)
 * 1 cup (240 ml) maple syrup
 * ⅛ cup (30 g) sugar
 * 1 tbsp flour
 * &frac12; tsp salt
 * 1 tsp ginger
 * 1 tsp cinnamon
 * ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)
 * 2 large eggs, beaten
 * 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Procedure

 * 1) Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
 * 2) Blend all ingredients except the pie shell together to make the filling.
 * 3) Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.
 * 4) Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
 * 5) Let cool and serve.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * This recipe replaces much of the sugar normally found in a pumpkin pie recipe with maple syrup. Use only real 100% maple syrup, not maple-flavored pancake syrup, as their sugar content is different. You can also use brown sugar instead of maple syrup.
 * Prepare the raw pumpkin by skinning and cutting into 1 inch cubes. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 1 hour and then turn off the heat. Leave the pumpkin in the oven for another hour or two, which will reduce the moisture content. The pumpkin may also be steamed but may end up with too much moisture, resulting in a runny pie. A 10 inch (25 cm)-diameter pumpkin will make 4–6 pies. The pumpkin may also be baked whole and skinned afterwards.
 * Pumpkin pie has no top crust, which makes most forms of decoration impossible; however, for a more aesthetically-pleasing pie, put dollops of real whipped cream on each slice, or add a decorative rim to the side crust with artfully layered dough cut-outs in the shape of fall leaves, squash, or pumpkins.
 * Use a smaller 'sugar pumpkin' instead of the big 'Jack O Lantern' pumpkin. Sugar pumpkins have a firm and smooth texture while the larger 'Jack O Lantern' pumpkin has a more stringy or fibrous texture and more watery flesh.

Variations

 * Chocolate-covered pumpkin pie: After the pie has cooled, melt 2 oz (55 g) of sweetened chocolate (milk or dark) and pour over the top of the pie. Be sure to completely cover the pumpkin. Refrigerate to set the chocolate.
 * Pumpkin Pastries: Roll pie crust pastry thin and cut into circles approx 4" in diameter. Put a spoonful of the cool pumpkin mixture towards one side of the center of the circle. Fold over the crust into a half-circle and firmly crimp the edges closed. Slice three small slits in the top for venting. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake only until crust is a light golden-brown, approx 10 minutes.

Substitutions

 * 14 oz (1 can) sweetened condensed milk can replace the scalded milk and maple syrup.
 * 2 cups of plain canned pumpkin can replace the cooked and strained pumpkin. Do not use "pumpkin pie filling", which has added spices. For a discussion on the use of canned pumpkin and the recipes attached, please see the talk page.

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