Bourbon-Vanilla Pumpkin Pie

You know how, if you’re in a good relationship, you can still have friends. And if the relationship is really good, those friends can have some similarities to the significant other without causing friction. This post is kind of about that. Only instead of trust, it involves crust. That’s because it’s about a pumpkin pie that isn’t Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie.

This is the second stop on my little pie adventure, just in time for Thanksgiving: Bourbon-Vanilla Pumpkin Pie. And it’s as good as it sounds. It not only has a bourbon-spiked filling, but also a sweet, bourbon-and-vanilla-scented crust. I admit I was a bit worried about that crust, but I also knew I wasn’t going to be able to get away with a store-bought one this time. I had to stop being such a pastry wimp and get this exciting concoction into a pan.

Talk about return on investment! This crust is delicious! It is blind baked before the delightfully flavorful filling is added and it smells like cookies baking. It also tastes like cookies when wrapped around the baked pumpkin custard, although it’s not cookie-like in texture. Mine wasn’t particularly flaky, although that might have more to do with my pastry-making skills than with the recipe. It was nicely crunchy, however, and didn’t get soggy at all.

 

That fragrant and flavorful crust is the perfect accompaniment to the wonderful filling. The bourbon doesn’t smack you in the face, but gently floats about the pie, enhancing the pumpkin’s sweetness and the caramel notes from the little bit of brown sugar, while accompanying the pumpkin pie spices very, very well. The overall melding of flavors is complex but subtle, with no particular flavor addition dominating the others, or masking the pumpkin. Utterly, utterly delicious!

This pumpkin pie filling is quite rich, plumped up by heavy cream infused with cinnamon, but manages not to be cloying. It holds up very well inside the crust, even when sliced, but is so smooth and creamy that it almost melts in the mouth. Fine, sophisticated stuff. While I’ll never leave Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Bourbon-Vanilla Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

For the crust:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, divided

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon bourbon

2-3 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

1 ½ cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons bourbon

1 (approximately 4-inch) cinnamon stick

3 eggs

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

15 ounce can pumpkin puree (or equivalent pureed cooked pumpkin)

1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Whipped cream to serve (optional)

1. To make the crust: add the flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine well.

2. Add 5 tablespoons cut-up butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the remaining butter and pulse just until the mixture looks crumbly. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon bourbon. Pulse a few times. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and process just until the mixture comes together as a dough, adding the remaining tablespoon water as needed.

3. Remove the dough to a floured surface and shape into a disk. Wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour, (or for a few days if needed).

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into about a 12-inch circle. Drape the dough into a 9-inch pie pan and arrange it to fit without stretching. Fold over the edges and shape or crimp as desired. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Wrap with plastic wrap if you are going to refrigerate it longer (up to a day).

5. Preheat oven to 425 F. Place the pie pan with the chilled crust on a rimmed baking sheet. Cover the crust with foil. Fill with pie weights. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights. Return to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes more, or until dry and beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

6. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F. To make the filling: pour the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons bourbon in a small saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick. Cook over medium-low heat until the mixture just comes to a simmer. Cover and set aside to cool.

7. In a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in the ½ cup granulated sugar and the brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Remove the cinnamon stick from the cream mixture. Whisk into the egg mixture until very smooth.

8. Leaving the pie pan with the blind-baked crust on the baking sheet, pour the filling mixture into the crust. Cover the crust with strips of foil to prevent burning.

9. Bake the pie on the baking sheet at 375 F for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the filling is set and only wobbles slightly when shaken. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Makes 8-10 servings. Refrigerate leftovers (if there are any)

Other recipes like this one: Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Personal Pumpkin Pies

I am in no way advocating a dismissal of Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie, or any other favorite family recipe for that classic fall dessert. But there may be a day when you need pumpkin pie, either to fulfill an obligation, help out a friend in need on short notice, or quench an incurable craving, and there just won’t be time for the real, homemade thing. That’s when these little treats will make your day.


I’m talking about a recipe I tried recently from the blog Baking Bites. It’s for cupcakes that are made basically of pumpkin pie filling with just enough flour and leavening to make a bit of a crust on their outer edges. They are so easy, you have almost no excuses not to make them. Never baked anything before in your life? Try these. Had bad experiences baking in the past and are afraid to even approach your oven? Brave the kitchen again with these. Bored enough to be just loafing around on the Internet and lingering on this page? Make these now.

When these first cooled down to room temperature (or just above. I was impatient.), they were okay, as in just okay. I chilled them as suggested in the original recipe and everything changed. The cupcakes sink in the middle as they cool (which makes a nice little well for whipped cream) and when they’re chilled, they firm up into a sort of dumpling consistency that might even be considered on its way to cheesecake. They can easily be eaten out of hand, although a fork will help keep the whipped cream in check a bit if you decide to go that route.

Really, there’s nothing more to these little, baby, personal pumpkin pies than whisking together the wet ingredients, whisking together the dry ingredients (or sifting them if you want), whisking the wet and dry together, scooping them into papered muffin tins and baking. It takes much longer to cool and chill them than to mix and bake them. And if you’re not inclined to self-control, it will take even less time to eat them all. If you’re particularly inclined to self-control, or want to make these more than a day or two before you need them, they also freeze well.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
Adapted from Baking Bites

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
3/4 cup half and half
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin, or 15 ounces homemade pumpkin puree
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Whisk together to mix well and ensure there are no lumps. Set aside.

2. In another medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the half and half and beat well. Add the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well-combined and very smooth.

3. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk together until smooth.

4. Line a 12-cup muffin/cupcake pan with paper liners. Spoon about 1/3 cup batter into each lined cup. Bake at 350 F 20-25 minutes or until the top and edges appear well set. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan. They will sink in the middle as they cool. When the cupcakes are cool, cover and chill. Serve cold with sweetened whipped cream.

Makes 12 servings. Can be frozen by wrapping and sealing in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container.

Another recipe like this one: Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie

One year ago: Chorizo and Chipotle Chili

Hurrah for the Pumpkin Pie!

I enjoy pumpkin pie enough to eat it just about all year, but somehow it doesn’t taste quite right until at least mid-October. Then, one can come up with an excuse to make it just about any week (although I don’t, because there are so many other recipes to try and only so many calories I can handle!) There’s the nice, traditional autumn dinner after Halloween, say, that’s begging for a traditional autumn dessert. There’s that week or two before Thanksgiving when you just can’t wait, or you want to try that new pumpkin pie recipe before serving it on the big day. Then, of course, there’s Thanksgiving itself, when pumpkin pie is mandatory. No questions. No excuses. Pumpkin pie.

For the last several years, I’ve been making my pies from one recipe. Sure, I’ve got a stack of others I’d like to try, lighter pies, fancier, spicier pies, pies with different crusts, toppings and mix-ins. When it gets down to it, though, I usually say, “Why try another pie?” This one is the one

This recipe was given to me my by mother in-law (hi, Sherry!) and was the much-loved recipe of her mother in-law. This is the pie that everyone wants in Harry’s family (especially Harry), and not just because it’s Grandmama’s pie. It also happens to be very, very good. It’s just a little richer, just a little creamier, just a little more old fashioned than other pies. The filling stands up for itself without slumping and weeping, with a consistency somewhere pleasantly between custard and cheesecake that is never grainy or watery.

I had to call my mother in-law last week, in an emerging panic because I had lost this recipe. Lucky for me, she had it readily available (one of the million or so things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving). We discussed the recipe at some length, and I decided to use some more detail in its directions, and I have provided those here. I also added some spices, but those are really a matter of taste anyway. As long as you have some cinnamon, you probably don’t need to stock up on spices that you don’t think you’ll ever use again (although the allspice is in the original recipe and a real asset to the team).

This recipe is for one pie, but is easily doubled (in case, like me, you have friends who request you make their serving a double…you know who you are). This isn’t difficult, but it can be a bit messy if you’re like me in the kitchen.

It really is worth it, however, and when you serve this pie on Thanksgiving (or Christmas or any other day you see fit) they’ll be saying “Hurrah!” for you and “Hurrah!” for Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie! Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe
It is likely that you will have more filling than you can easily fit into the pie shell. If so, pour the excess in a ramekin and bake it alongside the pie. It will take less time than the pie to fully bake.

You could use any single-crust pastry recipe you like, although I recommend a traditional, plain crust. Store-bought crusts are fine. Adjust the spices in the filling as you like them.

1 ½ cups milk (375 ml)
3 tablespoons (about 1 ½ ounces or 40 g) butter
3 eggs
¾ cup (about 5 ½ ounces or 155 g) sugar
1 (15 ounce or g) can pumpkin or 15 ounces (425g) smooth pumpkin or winter squash puree
¾ teaspoon (3ml) ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon (2 ml) ground allspice
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground ginger
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground cloves
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) freshly ground nutmeg
1 unbaked pie crust, arranged in a pie pan
whipped cream for serving

1. Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C). Heat milk in a medium size sauce pan over medium heat until it reaches 180 F (82 C). This is just before the milk boils. (Do not bring all the way to a boil.)

2. Remove the milk from the heat and add the butter. Stir to melt the butter and set aside to cool somewhat.

3. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and the sugar together in a large bowl until they are fluffy and pale. Add the pumpkin and the spices and whisk together. Slowly add the milk mixture and whisk until very well combined.

4. Place the crust in the pan on a large baking sheet. (This will make the pie much easier to maneuver.) Pour the filling into the prepared, unbaked pie crust. Reserve any filling that does not fit and bake it separately in a ramekin for a treat for the cook.

5. Cover the exposed edges of the pie crust with strips of aluminum foil. Carefully transfer the baking sheet with the pie into the 450 F (230 C) oven and bake for 20 minutes.

6. Reduce the oven heat to 350 F (180 C). Bake 15 minutes. Remove the foil from the crust. Bake an additional 15 to 25 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the center of the pie should wobble just a little when the pie is very gently shaken. Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing. Serve with whipped cream.

Makes 8 to 10 servings. Eat leftovers within a couple days. Recipe is easily doubled to make two pies.