Adventures in Baking {the Thanksgiving edition}

Photo Credit: DrBacchus (Creative Commons)

A few weeks ago, I was very adventurous. I did something I had never done before...

{drum roll please}

 I made pumpkin pie!

{@ 24 years old, I felt I was a bit behind on this endeavor}

 And instead of using the canned stuff, I made it from a real live pumpkin.  I am not a baking connoisseur, so the thought of using a real pumpkin was intimidating at first. But after scouring the internet and finding an easy straightforward recipe, my fear fell to the sidelines. And despite forgetting to buy a second can of evaporated milk to properly double the recipe, my baking adventure was quite successful.

Hope this recipe proves helpful for all your Turkey Day needs.

Cheers to having a gluttonous Thanksgiving!

-Abigail

RECIPE FOR ONE FRESH PUMPKIN PIE

 Ingredients:

One sugar pumpkin {this is a smaller pumpkin than the carving kind}
One recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie {substitute for your own pie crust recipe}
Two eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
One (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

Directions:
Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with lightly oiled aluminum foil. Bake at 325-degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel. Either mash, or puree in small batches in a blender.

Increase oven temperature to 450-degrees.

In a large bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add brown sugar, flour, salt, 2-cups of the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and evaporated milk. Stir well after each addition. Pour mixture into the unbaked pastry shell. Place a strip of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust to prevent over browning.

Bake ten minutes at 450-degrees, then reduce the oven temperature to 350-degrees. 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.

Recipe adapted from Fitness and Freebies