Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Amanda here. Pumpkin pie is one of my favorites and I plan to bake and eat them all Fall, while pie pumpkin supplies last. We’re currently sourcing organic pie pumpkins from Shenandoah Valley Family Farms. This recipe is simple and so delicious, especially when you use high quality local ingredients.

Start by baking your pie pumpkin (just one is enough for one pie). Cut in half, remove seeds, poke holes in outer skin with fork, and place face down on a baking sheet. Bake at about 375 for 30 min or so. Check the tenderness periodically, as the flesh may cook faster or slower depending on the thickness. You want it pretty soft, as you will puree it with an immersion blender later.

Once that is in the oven, make your dough:

Pie Crust
1 cup flour (Deep Roots “silver” pastry or all purpose)
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter, cubed (I used salted)
a little COLD water to drizzle

Mix flour and butter cubes well by hand or with a food processor until texture resembles wet sand. Drizzle just a bit of cold water into mix and form into dough ball. Add a tiny but more water if it’s too dry. It should be the consistency of play dough, not too sticky.

Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator while your pumpkin cooks.

Blind Bake Crust
The pumpkin will need to cool down before you puree it, so use that time to roll out and blind bake the crust.
Put your rolled out pie dough into your 9” pie dish. Put parchment paper on top and weight it down with pie weights/rice/beans. Bake at 425 for only about 7-10 min. Pull it out right as you start to see some gold/brown color on the edge of the crust.

Mix your pie filling while it cools a bit.

Pumpkin Pie Filling Ingredients
2 c pureed pie pumpkin
1 1/3 cups heavy cream (local Mt Crawford cream)
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Once the pumpkin has cooled enough to handle, scrap out the soft flesh into a bowl. You only need two cups for the pie filling — pack it well into your measuring cup and you can reserve the rest if you end up needing more (or add it to soup like this one). Mix the pumpkin with the cream and blender with an immersion blender. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Pour filling into your pie crust. I baked it at 350 for about 45 min. Stick a knife in the middle to check for doneness — the knife should come out clean.

This pie turned out so well for me, and I plan to make it again and again. It’s not too sweet and it tasted so fresh. The good, local ingredients really matter!