Pumpkin Pie

As a southern girl, I didn't grow up on Pumpkin Pie. The few versions that I tasted were either store bought or baked by someone who brought it to a dinner as an obligatory classic dessert.

When I started playing around with recipes most of them were either way too spicy - usually too much ginger for me - or bland and flavorless. I needed more control over the spices going into my pie so I began making my own spice mixture, which I call Autumn Spice Blend because it is so versatile for fall baking. You can do this too. Use mine or adjust the proportions for yourself.

I set out to make myself happy. On the way, I hit upon a Pumpkin Pie recipe that my customers raved over. I agree with them; this is a great tasting Pumpkin Pie, and I hope you will feel the same way!

Some notes on baking a beautiful and delicious Pumpkin Pie:

1. Most Pumpkin Pies crack because they have been overcooked. After many seasons of slamming out Pumpkin Pies for Thanksgiving I have learned the exact look of a perfectly done Pumpkin Pie as it comes out of the oven. This is an acquired skill. I will walk you through it, but know that you will remove a Pumpkin Pie from the oven that does not look done. It will continue cooking as it sits and cools slowly under a specific environment (see note #3).
2. The cracking occurs because of the whole eggs in your recipe. Specifically, the egg whites are a wonderful binder for the pie as they cook but can stiffen too much for a custardy creation like Pumpkin Pie. I have reduced the egg whites in this recipe to afford a more forgiving recipe. Egg yolks, which are fatty and rich, do not cause cracking by themselves. I have seen Pumpkin Pie recipes that tout absolutely no cracking but they accomplish this by eliminating eggs. But if I'm going to eat a Pumpkin Pie I want to enjoy every rich, smooth flavorful forkful.
3. Cooling your Pumpkin Pie too quickly can also cause the dreaded cracking and/or cause the edges of the Pumpkin Pie to slightly pull away from the crust, making for an unsightly presentation. The Pumpkin Pie will taste just fine but after you have put that much work into it, why not keep it beautiful with just a little extra care? Your Pumpkin Pie needs to cool slowly. All of the ingredients that you just baked to a new physical composition need time to collect themselves to be presentable. Allow them to rest! When you take your Pumpkin Pie out of the oven to cool, keep it in a warm spot of the kitchen for 1/2 hour to 1 hour. Do not put it in the refrigerator to cool, or anywhere that is less than the ambient temperature in your house.