Pumpkin Pie with Fresh Pumpkin

Apparently, nobody liked my pumpkin pie. Oh snap. Bazinga. They totally loved it. Which bolstered my self esteem in pie-related things after losing the pie contest at dessert club last month. I used fresh pumpkin from my recent pumpkin acquisitions. I also used a crisco pie crust instead of a butter pie crust, which was not only tastier, it was more cost effective.

The Pie Filling:

10 - 12 oz of fresh pumpkin flesh
10 - 12 oz of evaporated milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, plus one egg white
2 1/2 TSP pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 TBSP vanilla
1 TBSP flour

The Pie Crust: for a "topless" single 9'' pie

1 1/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup crisco
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 - 6 TBSP ice water

It takes an hour at 425 F to bake a small sugar pumpkin, so I would prepare it the night before. I would also prepare the pie crust the night before and leave it in the refrigerator. When you have the crust and filling assembled and ready to go, you want to cover it with foil to prevent the crust from burning. Then you bake it for 10 minutes at 450 F, then another 40 - 50 minutes at 350, or until the middle passes the toothpick test. I found I had to bake it for 50.

Directions for Pumpkin Filling:

Puree the pumpkin flesh in your blender on med-high for 5 minutes. You want to check it periodically to make sure to remove any strings that  don't seem to blend, or any seeds or rinds. Then you add everything else, and blend for another 3 - 5 minutes until the mixture is uniform.

Directions for Pie Crust: (Thank you, Crisco)

1. 1.
   BLEND flour, salt and salt in medium mixing bowl.


2. 2.
   CUT chilled shortening into 1/2-inch cubes. Cut in chilled shortening cubes into flour mixture, using a pastry blender, in an up and down chopping motion, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.


3. 3.
   SPRINKLE half the maximum recommended amount of ice cold water over the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir and draw flour from bottom of bowl to the top, distributing moisture evenly into flour. Press chunks down to bottom of bowl with fork. Add more water by the tablespoon, until dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.


4. TIP
   Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.


5. 4.
   SHAPE dough into a ball for single pie crust. Divide dough in two for double crust or double deep dish crust, one ball slightly larger than the other. Flatten ball(s) into 1/2-inch thick round disk(s).


6. TIP
   For ease in rolling, wrap dough in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.