Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie
This recipe was inspired by the pumpkin pie we all have enjoyed every Thanksgiving. Go call the person who made it for you and give thanks.
I LOVE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, BUT A FEW PHRASES REALLY GET UNDER MY SKIN.
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Biggest cop-out ever, except for the even more insulting, “I’m sorry if you really feel that way.” Now you’re not sorry, and I’m a liar. Awesome. “It is what it is.” Thanks, Yoda. “Whoever smelt it, dealt it.” I’m not sure anything could be less true. Except this one, which is a little more relevant to the topic at hand. “Easy as pie!” You know who says “Easy as pie!”? The person who buys frozen pie.
I’m not sure there are many tasks less easy than making a pie, but ever since my grandmother passed away, before Gigi was born, I’ve been the pie maker in my family. I’m getting better, trying to implement as many of Grandma’s techniques as I can. Not overhandling the dough. Baking the pie a day in advance. Always keeping a box of wine tapped in the pantry. Okay, maybe not that last one.
Nevertheless, Grandma never stressed if her crust tore a bit when she put it in her pie plate. She never sweated if her edges were not perfectly crimped. And she made it look, well, easy. Maybe she was onto something.
INGREDIENTS
1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegan margarine (i.e., Earth Balance) or coconut oil
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
1 cup nondairy milk or organic milk
½ cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
nondairy or organic whipped topping and pumpkin pie spice, to garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1 To prepare crust, in a large bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in margarine or coconut oil until flour mixture has the texture of wet sand. You can also accelerate this process by using a food processor to blend the flour mixture and shortening together. Grandma didn’t. I do.
2 In a small liquid measuring cup, combine maple syrup, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the water. Pour into flour mixture. Stir until a dough starts to form. If the dough seems too dry, add the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
3 Transfer dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it up, pressing it into a disk. Put dough into the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
4 Meanwhile, make the filling by bringing ¾ cup of the milk and brown sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once it has come to a boil, lower heat and simmer.
5 Put cornstarch in a small bowl or a small liquid measuring cup. Add the remaining ¼ cup of milk and stir until completely smooth.
6 Add cornstarch mixture to the saucepan, stirring rapidly. Bring the mixture back to a low boil and cook, stirring frequently, until it is quite thick. Remove from heat.
7 In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, ground flaxseed, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Add sweetened condensed milk and stir until completely incorporated. Set aside.
8 When dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
9 Dust a breadboard with flour and turn dough out onto it. Roll dough out gently with a floured rolling pin until it is about ¼ inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter.
10 Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie plate by rolling up the edge of the dough on the rolling pin and then unrolling it on top of the pie plate. Or you can invert the breadboard on top of the pie plate. Either way, pray.
11 Press dough into the pie plate and crimp the edges of the crust. Using the tines of a fork, poke holes in the bottom of the pie crust.
12 Pour prepared pumpkin filling into the pie shell and spread evenly.
13 Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until pie has set. If you have a pie shield, you’ll want to place it over the crust after the pie has baked for about 20 minutes. If you don’t have a pie shield, you can make one out of tinfoil, to keep your crust from getting too dark.
14 When the pie is cool, cover and refrigerate, preferably overnight.
NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 270 calories, 7 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 48 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 23 g sugar, 5 g protein, vitamin A 150%, vitamin C 2%, calcium 8%, iron 6%
Based on 8 slices of pie. Optional ingredients and toppings not included in analysis.