Homemade pies at the annual threshing bee were once again a special hit with guests who attended the recent two day event at the Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum.
Of special interest was the crust-less pumpkin pie, with discussion about what the ingredients might be. A recipe I’ve used many times for my family’s version of this pie is part of this week’s column.
And with Thanksgiving approaching and pumpkin season upon us, two other pumpkin pie recipes are included to make use of home-grown pumpkins — or commercial pumpkin pie puree.
• • •
No Crust Pumpkin Pie
- 2 tsps. butter
- 1/2 cup T-Bisk (Bisquick)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ginger
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 cup Carnation milk
Cream butter, eggs and sugar. Add in pumpkin and milk and mix well.
Mix all other dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Mix well to remove all lumps.
Grease a 9 inch pie plate and pour in mixture.
Cook in a pre-heated 350 degrees F oven for one hour or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool completely before slicing. Serve with whipped cream.
For a deep dish pie, recipe may be doubled.
• • •
Autumn Pumpkin Pie
- 10-inch unbaked pie shell
- 2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin or winter squash or canned pumpkin puree
- 1 can Eagle Brand milk diluted with whole milk or use
- 1-1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 6 medium or 5 large eggs
- 2 tsps. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. cloves
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup brandy or cognac
- or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Cream eggs and brown sugar. Add milk, pumpkin, seasonings and brandy. Mix well.
Pour into unbaked pie shell. Place in a 450 degrees F oven for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 325 degrees F and continue baking until firm, about 40 minutes longer. Pie is cooked when a small knife inserted in centre comes out clean.
Cool completely before slicing. Serve with spiced whipped cream.
• • •
Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie
- 9 or 10 inch baked pie shell
Filling:
- 1 cup commercial sour cream
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 4 large eggs, separated
Topping:
- 1 cup commercial sour cream
- 2 tbsps. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
To make the filling, combine in the top of a double boiler the sour cream, pumpkin, salt, spices and sugar. Stir to blend. Add the egg yolks and beat with a fork until blended.
Cook over hot but not boiling water, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool.
Beat the egg whites until stiff then fold into the pumpkin mixture. Pour into the baked pie shell.
For the topping, combine the sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Beat lightly and then spread the mixture over the filling,
Bake in a 325 degrees F oven about 15 minutes. Cool on rack and then chill completely in the refrigerator.
Optional: instead of the sour cream topping, season some heavy whipped cream with 1/2 tsp. rum, 4 tbsps. sugar and a dash of cinnamon and spread over pie.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
