There's nothing quite like a kitchen scented by pumpkin pie, is there? It's a seemingly simple holiday favorite but I'm having fun finding out how just how complex pumpkin pie can be. Evaporated milk or condensed milk? Coconut milk or goat's milk? Pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg and cinnamon? Canned pumpkin or fresh? In the past week I've made two pies (one of which is in the oven) and started baking my own pies last year. My dad loves baking and eating pumpkin pie but I've never been a big fan. So why have I been making it so much?
Well, you can answer that question with sales. In November I was at Canseco's, a local chain grocery, and noticed that they had organic canned pumpkin on sale. It was something like $3 off and I knew I'd be baking pies so I picked up two cans. Then I went and looked at the sell-by date and realized that it was this month. Luckily cans last a lot longer than their sell-by dates, but nonetheless I had a "womp womp" moment where I realized why they were so cheap. Oh well - into the pantry they went. Then during the week of Christmas I saw ready-to-use graham cracker crusts on sale for 2 for something so I bought a pair. I also happened to buy two boxes of coconut milk, on sale, to have on hand. I was stocked.
On New Year's Eve I was invited to the party of a mutual friend and I wanted to bring something other than booze. This crowd doesn't really eat at parties; they just drink and dance. I need to eat when I drink so I was nervous about whether or not there'd be food. So I made a pie. Although initially freaked out because I didn't have evaporated milk, I was soon soothed by Google and all the alternatives for evaporated milk. I used the coconut milk in my pantry, although it was boxed, not canned, and unsweetened, unlike what the recipe called for. (You can also use eggnog if you have any leftover!)
Here is my adaptation for the first pie from Chocolate Covered Katie's Healthy Pumpkin Pie:
1 can (15 oz) organic pumpkin puree
about 13 oz of coconut milk (I fudged the measurement by using a Mason jar with pint markings on the side; I filled up the jar to just above 3/4 pint, which is 12 ounces)
1/4 cup rolled oats (loved this addition! I'd never seen oats in pumpkin pie before!)
2 tbsp ground flax
1/3 cup, plus 2 tbsp, brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla (using an amazing vanilla extract that a friend brought me from Mexico - it'll knock your socks off)
1 9" prepared graham cracker crust
a handful of cinnamon spicing pecans, for garnish
Preheat over to 400. Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth, then pour into prepared pie crust. Sprinkle cinnamon spicing pecans on top, if desired. Bake 27 minutes, let cool, then refrigerate for as long as possible, preferably a couple hours.
I didn't have a whole lot of time so I don't think the pie set up as much as it could have. The small slice that I had was pretty good, but also very mushy. I like my pies a little firmer. Fortunately everyone at the New Year's Eve party that had a slice said it was very good. I'd like to think they had it for brunch when they picked themselves up off the floor the next day.
The second pie was a little more adventurous. At the store, I was looking at all the evaporated milks trying to figure out which would be the most humane. There didn't seem to be organic evaporated milk but then a can caught my eye - evaporated goat's milk. I was intrigued. The label assured me that the farmers in CA were not cruel to their goats so I thought, sure, I'll give it a try. Although I like to get the best bang for my buck, when I see the Pet or Nestle cans I hear agonized moo's and see cows hooked up to milking machines... you get the picture. So I try to spend my money elsewhere.
I mixed the dry and wet ingredients and was ready to put in the goat's milk and thought, maybe I should try it first. Oh my goodness it is AWFUL on its own! Yuck! This is of course coming from a girl who stopped liking the taste of milk when she became an adolescent, but still. It tasted almost rancid. I didn't think it could possibly be bad already - I just bought it! So I decided to mix a little of the pumpkin filling with the milk to see how the two would taste together. I'm so glad I did - together it's delicious! It's really amazing how gross the milk can taste on its own and how good it tastes with everything else. I am reminded that cooking and baking are chemical processes where this kind of thing can happen.
So here is the recipe I used, adapted from LIBBY's Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe:
3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (the amazing Mexican extract)
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1 can (12 oz) evaporated goat's milk
1 9" prepared pie crust
cinnamon spicing pecans, for garnish
Preheat oven to 425. Mix dry ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt) into a small bowl. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Beat the pumpkin into the eggs with the vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Slowly add the evaporated milk and beat until smooth. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The top will be crispy. Let cool for an hour (ish). Serve immediately.
I will be leaving for another event soon after the pie comes out of the oven, so I won't have much time to cool it. Hopefully it'll cool a little while it's en route.
The first pie was mushy but tasted very good. The second pie looks and smells amazing and the filling was delicious while it was liquid. I also put the leftover filling into a glass bowl in the freezer and I'm hoping it will become a sort of ice cream - I'll let you know when it freezes! Stay tuned to see how the second pie came out - I hope I get a piece at this buffet I'm taking it to!
What is your favorite pumpkin pie recipe?
Happy munching!
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