Believe it or not, I have never made a pumpkin pie from scratch. That probably has to do with the fact that I actually don't like pumpkin at all. Fall comes around and I cringe at the pumpkin spice latte's or the pumpkin eggnog. I really just don't like the taste of pumpkin. But I am one who will never say no to a challenge and will always try something once. This was a fun and delicious attempt at doing just that.
Our friend Donna gave us the pumpkin from their garden. Not only is it local but it's fertilized with alpaca poop so it's even better. She always spoils us when we come to visit whether it is canned goods or fresh produce from their garden. She was the inspiration behind this recipe and the person I must give credit to. I made a few minor changes to the original recipe which is noted at the bottom.
Cut the stem off from the pumpkin. This was a little hard to do at first because our stem had the prickly parts still on it. I ended up cutting around the stem until it popped right out. But man those stems can be painful if you just try pulling the stem off at first without a paper towel or glove.
Once the stem comes off, you'll want to cut the pumpkin in half. This was difficult at first since I didn't use my ceramic knife. Once I switched to the large ceramic knife, it cut straight through the pumpkin. When you get the pumpkin in half, you'll be ready for the really messy part. Taking out the goo from both sides. This was a little more challenging as the strings were stuck inside but with a little bit of pulling and cutting, they eventually came out clean.
Voila, you have 2 clean pumpkins that are now ready for greasing!
The original recipe calls for canola oil for the pie and the pumpkin, but I went with coconut oil since I have so much of it and always hear nothing but good stuff from cooking with coconut oil. I just put a little bit on my hands and rubbed the pumpkins until they were nice and shiny...
Look at this shiny pumpkins!
After they get their coconut oil massage, they'll spend the next hour in the oven roasting.
After about an hour, pull those pumpkin halves out of the oven and let them cool. You'll be scooping out all of the pumpkin to put in the processor so it needs to be cool enough to touch. When you open the oven, you'll be hit with the most delicious aroma. That coming from someone who doesn't care for pumpkin.
After the pumpkin cools, you'll be able to easily scoop out all of the pumpkin to prepare in the processor. I used an ice cream scoop for this part and it literally just slides right off the pumpkin.
With the pumpkin in the food processor, you'll mix it until its nice and smooth.
That's what fresh roasted pumpkin puree looks like when you are finished! I know it's tempting but don't eat all the yumminess once you puree it. You want to have some left for the pies.
The ingredients are fairly easy and I actually did them all in one bowl instead of doing the two separate bowls with powders and liquids. Nothing went wrong while mixing so if you want to use two bowls, go ahead and use them. If not, mix away. Don't be like me though and use a can of 4 years past date condensed milk. We spent half an hour trying to decide if it was useable before I sent hubby to the store to buy another can. Turns out, fresh condensed milk is white, not brown.
I used generic store bought crusts as well because I just simply did not have time to make crust of my own. This recipe does make 2 smaller pies or one large 18 inch pie. Prepare the pie crusts by simply pulling them out of the freezer. Mix all of your ingredients together until smooth. I ended up adding a little more nutmeg and cinnamon at this point just for taste. Pour your batter into each pie crust. At this point, I baked them one at a time only because I already had something in the oven baking.
It was really hard to not open the oven every 10 minutes but let it cook for almost the full hour before checking on it. I checked after 30 minutes and then checked again after 45. The first one I took out at an hour but the second pie I left in another 15 minutes with the oven off just to let it get a little thicker.
When you take the pie out, you get this gorgeous and most delicious pie. It's just the right amount of brown and perfectly sweet while still having that pumpkin flavor. This is all coming from the person who doesn't actually like pumpkin pie. So if I think it's delicious, then you will too!
Look at that gorgeous pie!
Top it off with some whipped cream (ok more like spray half a can of whipped cream on it) and enjoy the fruits of your labor! Quite honestly, it's not too much work for 2 delicious pies. Especially if you want to get the kids involved or if you just want to make yourself look good for company by showing them how you baked a pumpkin pie from scratch. Plus, did I mention its delicious?
From Scratch Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin
-1 medium sugar pumpkin (about 3 pounds)
-coconut oil, for oiling pumpkin
Pie Crust
-Pie crust of choice (homemade or store bought)
Filling
-1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
-1/2 cup whipping cream
-2 tablespoons cornstarch
-2 tablespoons molasses
-2 tablespoons coconut oil
-1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-3 large eggs
Directions
For the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the stem from the pumpkin and scrape out the insides, discarding the seeds. Cut the pumpkin in half and lay the pieces cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (or a silicone oven mat works well if you have one). Rub coconut oil all over the skin and bake until fork-tender. Depending on your oven, this should take about an hour. Let the pumpkin cool.
For the filling: Scoop out the pulp from the roasted pumpkin and puree in a food processor until smooth. I have a ninja food processor that I use and did it in a couple scoops at a time, making sure that each section was pureed evenly. My pumpkin produced about 4 cups of puree. Add in the condensed milk, cream, cornstarch, molasses, coconut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and eggs. Combine them and mix thoroughly.
Pour the filling into the crust and bake until the filling is set in the center. This took about an hour for the first pie but the second pie we left in for about 15 minutes longer with the oven turned off after an hour to let it get a little more brown. Both pies tasted delicious but we liked the second one cooked a little longer.
