Nothing beats homemade from scratch pumpkin pie. Turning fresh-baked pumpkins into puree, forming and rolling out the dough, and fluting the crust satisfies my earth-mother side and ensures that my family will eat pies made from the healthiest ingredients.

I’ll confess to not being the world’s best pastry chef. For the longest time I could not roll out a pie crust without having it tear or stick to the board. I resorted to doubling the normal recipe for a pie crust, and that gave me just the edge I needed (pun intended). ;o) To my surprise, my family loved my thick-crust pumpkin pies. My pumpkin pies are now a feature of our Thanksgiving celebration.

I love it when solving a problem creates a family tradition.

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Be aware that this pumpkin pie is different from ones you may have purchased in the grocery store or even from those made from a recipe for pumpkin pie. The reason is that most commercially sold pumpkin puree is not actually made from sugar pie pumpkin but from a relative that is more closely related to butternut squash. So, expect the taste to be a little different.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Ingredients for Butterflake Pie Crust

• 4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill). If you don’t have pastry flour, you can substitute whole wheat or unbleached white flour. For nutritional reasons, I recommend using organic flour.
• 1 cup salted butter
• 6-8 Tbsp. water (or enough to make a non-sticky ball).

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pie Filling

• 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree.
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/3 teaspoon cloves

Step One: Make Pie Crust

• Put 4 cups pastry flour into a medium bowl.
• Grate butter over flour.
• Using hands, blend grated butter into flour.
• Gather into a non-sticky but pliant ball and turn onto a pastry board.
• Using a rolling pin, roll dough to fit your pie pan with some extra to turn under along the top edge and flute. You will note from the picture that my pie crust is not perfect. My family has never had a problem with my efforts, and I like to think they have a certain rustic charm.

Step Two: Make Pumpkin Pie Filling

• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a hand beater or whisk.
• Beat in the remaining ingredients.
• Pour filling into your pastry-lined pie plate.

Step Three: Bake Your Pie

• Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn the oven to 350 degrees to finish baking.
• Bake the pie until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Be patient. Getting this step right means not having a soggy pie.

Step Four: Cool and Serve Your Pie

• Cool the baked pie on a rack, and then chill it for four hours before serving.
• You may want to put whipped cream on top. I suggest whipping fresh cream without sugar. You may be surprised how sweet it is, naturally. This is how they served whipped cream in Australia, where I lived for several years, and I still prefer it that way. Not to get on an anti-sugar hobby horse, but I learned while living abroad that in America we overpower the taste of food with sugar.

Consider Sharing this Recipe.

The only thanks I ask for this recipe is that you share it so others can benefit from it also. Thanks so much.

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