Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie is one of my favorites, I make quite a few every fall.  However, recently I had been wanting to make one with home cooked pumpkin instead of just using the usual canned pumpkin. I was a little concerned about how it would come out, seeing as I have been eating canned pumpkin pies my entire life and I think a lot of my love for pumpkin pie comes from the nostalgic effects it seems to have.  However, I loved how this came out!  The color was a little different (more of a light brown than a bright orange) but the taste and texture were amazing!  It tasted so much fresher and was silky and smooth.  I absolutely loved it!  I may never go back to baking with canned pumpkin!  

Ingredients

2 cups pureed home cooked pumpkin (usually about 1 sugar pumpkin's worth)

1 9 inch single pie crust (see recipe below)

2 eggs

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup evaporated milk 

1 cup heavy cream

To Prepare Single Pie Crust:

1 1/4 c. flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. cold milk

1/3 c. oil

In a bowl, mix flour and salt. Pour milk and oil in same cup. Add all at once. Stir with spoon until all moist. Divide dough in half. Place half of dough on waxed paper. Dampen counter top with cloth. Place wax paper over damp spot. Place another sheet of wax paper over top and roll to thickness for 1 crust. Flip on pie plate; remove wax paper. Repeat for second crust.

Directions

In a large bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, evaporated milk and cream. Stir well after each addition.

Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust. Place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning.

Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove the strip of foil about 20 minutes before the pie is done so that the edge of the crust will be a light golden brown. Cool pie, and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

Punkin' Cuppycakes

So these are the Pumpkin Cupcakes I was talking about earlier- they are my mom's recipe and have always been a welcome Fall treat every year.  They are technically cupcakes, but like I said, we eat them frosting-less and call them muffins-- they are just that good! This time though, I put a little bit of a cream cheese frosting on top for a little extra yumminess.  However, my frosting was a little runnier than it should have been (I tend to have this problem because I don't like my frosting super sweet, so I usually put less confectioner's sugar than the recipe calls for, leading to a slightly runny frosting) so they aren't the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made.  Ohhh well!  Still though, these "muffcakes" (uhhh?) are delicious with or without frosting! Enjoy!

Mom's Pumpkin "Muffins"

Yields 24 Muffins

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 c. oil
2 c. home cooked pumpkin
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Beat together eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.

Thoroughly stir together the remaining dry ingredients, then add to pumpkin mixture and mix completely.  Pour batter into greased muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Since I totally failed at the frosting I used, I suggest you just google a cream cheese buttercream if you want to top the "muffcakes" with it! Haha!