Perfect Pumpkin Pie

This year for Thanksgiving I volunteered to bring a Pumpkin Pie as the host was only making a pumpkin roll. I don't know about you, but I feel that Thanksgiving would not be complete with out a Pumpkin Pie! I couldn't find my usual Pumpkin pie recipe so I picked out one from Pioneer Woman's Holiday cook book. I figured you couldn't go wrong with trying one of her recipes {as they are all amazing!} I began my quest and had my pumpkin in the bowl, the next ingredient was sweetened condensed milk. When I opened my can, I knew something wasn't right. I checked the expiration date and it turns out it expired back in 2011. Oops :) So I tossed several cans of sweetened condensed milk that night, and then began the search for a new pie recipe. I ended up with this recipe from Mel's Kitchen cafe. I am so glad I found it. It turned out to be a huge hit! Bake this up for Christmas because you shouldn't wait until next Thanksgiving to make it!

Perfect Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie

1 single crust pie shell for a 9-inch pie plate

2 cups (or 15 oz can) pumpkin puree

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of cloves

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk or half and half (I used half and half)

Roll out the pie crust and gently place it into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming and fluting the edges. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (or up to a day). 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line the crust with foil and pour in dried beans or pie weights until completely full. (I lined it with parchment paper and filled it with dried beans). 

Bake the pie crust for 15 minutes. Gently remove the foil and weights and bake another 10 minutes until the dough no longer looks raw on the bottom. Remove from the oven while preparing the filling.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugars, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and vanilla until well combined. Add the eggs, cream and milk and whisk until smooth (don't over mix or the pie will have a tendency to crack)

Place the pie shell on a baking sheet and pour the filling into the warm pie shell.

Bake for 10 minutes, without removing the pie, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 45-55 minutes longer until the pie is set and golden on top. If the crust starts to over brown, cover it with foil strips or a pie shield partway through baking. 

Serve with sweetened whipped cream if desired.

Recipe source; Mel's Kitchen Cafe