Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie recipe is my adaptation of a recipe I have been making for my family since my daughter was a toddler. The original recipe was from the Betty Durley Cookbook, published in the 1950s, which I found at a yard sale many years ago. 

Yield: 8 servings

Serving size: 1 slice

Ingredients for the crust:

• 3.5 oz. (99.23g) cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (56g) coconut flour
• 2 tbsp. (24g) granular erythritol
• 2 tbsp. (30g) water
• 1 tsp. (4.6g) baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Ingredients for the filling:

• 2 tbsp. (28.4g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup (63g) granular erythritol
• 1 tsp. (5g) pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (119g) heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup (118g) water 
• 3/4 cup (183g) pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp. (2.6g) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. (0.9g) ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. (0.48g) allspice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180°C) and butter an 8″ round (20 x 3 cm) pie pan.
2. Fashion a protective collar for the crust to keep it from getting too dark during baking, as described next. (It is much simpler to make one ahead of time and place it on the baking pie than it is trying to construct one on a hot pie in the oven.) 
3. Use two pieces of aluminum foil to make a ring around the top of the pie plate. Fold the top edge of the foil over enough to cover the area where the pie crust will be without dipping into the future filling. Make sure the ends of the foil are tightly connected to each other. Gently remove the ring of foil and set it aside for now.
4. To make the filling, use an electric mixer to cream the butter, erythritol, and vanilla in a large bowl.
5. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.
6. Add in the water and cream. Blend well
7. Add in the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Blend well to incorporate. Place the mixture on the side for now and make the pie crust as follows.
8. Place the cream cheese, water, and erythritol into a separate bowl. Cream them together using an electric mixer.
9. Add the egg to the bowl. Beat well.
10. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Mix well with a spoon to combine.
11. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. 
12. While the dough is resting, prepare your work surface for rolling out the pie crust. I like to use blue painter’s tape to secure my parchment paper to my work surface. Doing this keeps the paper in place, making rolling out the dough much simpler.
13. Gather the dough into a ball and place it onto the taped-down parchment paper.
14. Place another piece of parchment over the top, and using your hands, press down gently to flatten it out a bit.
15. Roll the dough out evenly into a 10″circle (25.4cm). It should be about 1/4″ (0.64cm) thick.
16. Remove the top sheet of paper and invert the pie pan onto the dough. Using a knife with the pie pan as a guide, trim the edges of the dough into a clean circle. Save the scraps of dough on the side. 
17. Remove the tape from the parchment paper under the dough, and using the paper to help you, lift the dough and the pie pan together and carefully re-invert them. The dough should now be in the pan, and the pan should be facing right side up.
18. Place the pie pan onto your work surface and remove the parchment paper. Use your fingertips to press the dough down into the pan and up the sides where needed.
19. Cut and use the scraps you saved earlier to repair any holes in the pie crust and to build up the edges.
20. Use your fingers in a pinching motion to crimp the edge of the crust. An alternate form of decoration would be to crimp the edges by pressing them with the tines of a fork. The crust is now ready to be filled.
21. Give the filling a quick mix with the hand mixer to resuspend it and pour it into the pie crust.
22. Place the pie in the center of the preheated oven. Bake it for 50-60 minutes until the filling has set. Carefully place the foil collar from earlier over the crust at the halfway mark to keep it from burning.
23. Remove the pie from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.
24. When the pie is cool, place it into the refrigerator to chill.
25. Serve chilled. Cover any leftover pie with plastic wrap and store it under refrigeration.