I don’t know when my love of all things pumpkin began, but I consider Oct. 1 to be the official date to start eating anything and everything with pumpkin in it.
I’ve been in pumpkin mode for the last several days, searching out anything “new” flavored with pumpkin. So far, I‘ve found pumpkin pie Yoplait and pumpkin spice Eggos. I’m very happy the pumpkin pie blizzard has returned at the Dairy Queen and I can’t wait until Blue Bell puts out its pumpkin pie ice cream.
Thanksgiving, however, will be the highlight with fresh pumpkin pie. I only tasted real pumpkin pie about three years ago.
My lifelong friend brought over two pies that had been made from scratch. None of that canned stuff was involved.
I couldn’t believe how much better real pumpkin tasted. I’ve already been to the store hunting out “pie pumpkins” and have them baking in the oven right now.
\It may not be as fast as opening a can of pumpkin puree, but I think you will be pleased with the end result. I’m not even waiting until Thanksgiving to dive into this pie.
Pamela’s Creamy Pumpkin Pie
Pam said, “Here is the pumpkin pie recipe that everyone in my life has loved for the past 20-25 years. This is the only recipe that I have ever used for pumpkin pie.”
Ingredients
1 cup real cooked pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup sweet cream (whipping cream)
1 tbsp. melted butter
Instructions
Combine ingredients until well mixed. Pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50 minutes to one hour. Cook until the middle puffs up. Cover edges of pie if they get too brown. Cool before serving. We like it cold from the refrigerator. This pie also freezes well.
Cook’s note: I just used 1½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice in place of the spices above.)
To prepare pumpkin:
1. Cut a small pie pumpkin in half, taking off the stem. Scrape out the seeds and all the stringy bits.
2. Place on a foil-lined cookie sheet, cut side down. Bake at 350 about one hour or until tender. Let cool, then scrape the pumpkin meat off the rind and into a bowl. Beat or mash until somewhat smooth. Use one cup of the mashed pumpkin per pie. Freeze the rest in one-cup containers for pies all winter long.
Pumpkin Cream
Cheese Danish
Ingredients
2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 boxes frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water, for egg wash
Glaze:
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsp. milk or half & half
½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, salt, and spices and mix until combined.
Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin-cheese filling into the middle of each of the four squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold two opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Repeat with the remaining sheets of puff pastry, keeping the filling and dough in the fridge until ready to fill the next batch. Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, until puffed and brown. When completely cool, drizzle with glaze.
Cook’s note: I thought the Danish were too big using ¼ of a sheet for each one, so on one batch I cut the sheet into nine pieces, lightly pressed them into a cupcake pan, put in a generous tablespoon of pumpkin filling and baked for 18 minutes or until the edges browned and the filling puffed. This was much faster, less messy, and resulted in more product.
Glaze:
Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin pie spice and enough milk to make a smooth glaze. Generously drizzle the glaze over pastries.
Cook’s note: There is way more filling than you need for two boxes of puff pastry. It might take three or four boxes to use it all up, which I didn’t have (or you could just make half a recipe of the filling). I did have a roll of sugar cookie dough though, so I sliced that up as for regular cookies, made a slight indention in the center of the cookie slice and put a generous teaspoon of pumpkin filling on top. I baked them at 350 until the edges were browned. When completely cooled, I drizzled on some glaze.
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