The BEST Pumpkin Pie
A few simple, delicious tweaks give this updated pumpkin pie the most amazing flavor and texture.
Crust
Both lard and butter create the flakiest, most amazing crust. After you whisk the flour and salt together, use a pastry blender, food processor or two forks to cut the fat into the flour mixture. You want the consistency of coarse crumbs before adding the water.
I don’t measure the water anymore, since it seems to be different each time I make a crust! It sometimes takes me 8 tablespoons and sometimes 5. A lot depends on how humid the kitchen is, if your flour measurement was a little off (not a big deal) and how moist you want the dough to be. Ideally, it’s ready when it pulls together in a ball around the fork when you stir and cleans the sides of the bowl.
Make sure the water is ICE COLD. Before I even measure out the flour, I set a glass of cold water in the freezer until I’m ready to add it to the dough.
Once the crust is together, ball it up, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it chill for 30 minutes. Keeping the fat as cold as possible promises deliciously flaky layers.
Filling
This pumpkin pie is somewhat similar to the recipe on the cans of pumpkin, but with some very important upgrades. Rather than all evaporated milk, I swapped in half sweetened condensed milk, keeping the other half of evaporated milk.
Also, a good measurement of brown sugar and a healthy pinch of salt to cut the sweetness. This also emphasizes the pumpkin flavor. I also added some vanilla extract and a bit more pumpkin pie spice, rather than just cinnamon and nutmeg.
Check out my post on making your own pumpkin pie spice, where you can also find substitutions for many different situations!
Chill
After baking, let the pumpkin pie come up to room temperature, and then refrigerate it for at least 4 hours. I always leave it overnight. Make the pie the day before dinner and you have Thanksgiving day to worry about all those other things that inevitably pop up and stress you out. But now, you have pie that’s ready and waiting for you!
You’ve come this far and made the your pumpkin pie completely from scratch. Might as well make your whipped cream from scratch, too!
The BEST Pumpkin Pie
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Dough Chill: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert, Pies & Pastry
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Creamy, deliciously spiced and perfect for Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 4 TB cold lard
- 4 TB cold unsalted butter
- ice cold water (up to 2/3 cup)
For the filling
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TB pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Add the flour to a bowl and whisk in the salt. Use a pastry cutter to cut the lard and butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the ice water a few tablespoons at a time and mix with a fork after each addition. Once the dough pulls into a ball around the fork and cleans the sides of the bowl, it’s ready.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a packed ball. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- After the dough has chilled, make the filling. Combine all of the filling ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk well until smooth. Set aside while you prepare the pie pan.
- Generously flour your work surface and roll the pie crust out to fit a 9 1/2 inch pie plate, I usually make mine into a 14 inch circle. Use as much flour as needed to keep both sides from sticking to the counter and rolling pin. Dust any excess flour off of the crust and line the pie plate with the dough.
- Trim off any longer or uneven edges. Depending on your preference, you can either fold the edges towards the inside of the pie plate, or you can tuck them underneath to form a nice, finished edge around the plate.
- Pour the filling into the crust and bake the pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 43-45 minutes. A knife inserted in the center of the pie should remove cleanly.
- Allow to cool to room temperature before chilling for at least 4 hours.
- Refrigerate any leftovers for up to a week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 390
- Sugar: 27.1 g
- Sodium: 301.3 mg
- Fat: 18.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 49.8 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 8.4 g
- Cholesterol: 56.3 mg
