We are now a week away from Thanksgiving, which can only mean it is time to talk pumpkin pie! Believe it or not, I have yet to share a pumpkin pie recipe on the blog, and I knew this Thanksgiving needed to be the year I changed that.
One of the reasons I think I have not shared a pumpkin pie recipe before is honestly because it has just never really excited me. I love chocolate and I definitely did not grow up eating pumpkin pie. That said, over the years trying out new things, I have discovered I do in fact enjoy the sweeter pumpkin recipes.
Most pumpkin pies I have tried have been overly sweet and lacking in pumpkin flavor, so with this recipe, I wanted to really highlight the pumpkin flavor and not create something so sweet that you can’t taste anything else. I used mostly maple syrup to sweeten this up, which I think pairs so nicely with pumpkin. I then added plenty of good vanilla extract, and a little heavy cream to keep the pie silky smooth. The use of maple syrup in place of sugar makes this pie almost healthy-ish. Meaning the guilt for this pie should be non-existent if you are asking me.
My plan is to serve up it at this year’s Thanksgiving. Not going to lie, it is going to be the first pumpkin pie I have put on our Thanksgiving table. However, I feel pretty good about it. I cannot wait to share this one with my loved ones, which has me all the more excited!
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- ⅓ cup cold buttermilk, plus more if needed
For the Pie Filling
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup real maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375o degrees C. Grease an 8-inch pie plate with butter.
- Place the flour, almond flour, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add butter and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles small peas.
- Pour in the buttermilk and mix with a spatula, drizzling in more buttermilk as needed (no more than 1 tablespoon at a time), until the dough just comes together (a few dry spots are ok). Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead until no dry spots remain about 1 minute.
- Divide the dough in half. Shape each piece into a circular disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. At this point, you can place the dough in the fridge for up to one week or use as directed in your recipe.
- Fit the pie crust into the prepared pie plate. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights, beans or rice. Transfer to the oven and bake until the crust is set, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Remove pie weights and continue to bake until the crust is golden about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 160o.
- To make the pumpkin filling, mix together the pumpkin, heavy cream, eggs, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl until combined. Pour the mixture into the baked crust.
- Transfer the pie to the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles.
- Remove from the oven and let cool, and then place in the fridge to cool completely.
- When ready to serve, you can top the tart with whipped cream, if desired. Slice and serve!
