A popular fall recipe, especially for the holiday season, this classic pumpkin pie is a basic, no-frills pumpkin pie recipe that doesn’t add a bunch of embellishments that can mask the pure pumpkin flavor found here. Using a lot of pantry staples, you may only need to buy a can of pumpkin and be ready to go. Full of warm spices and fall flavors, this classic pumpkin pie recipe will be sure to please.
I’ve made a lot of pumpkin pies over the years, ranging from basic to fancy with special sugars and rums and bourbons and toppings, but my dad was never impressed. He always wanted to tell me how he still preferred the recipe on the back of a can of Libby’s pumpkin. This pie was my latest attempt to bring it all back to the classic basics and finally impress him with the flavor… and I finally got the approving thumbs up with a smile.
Starting with the recipe from the back of the can, we drop the evaporated and/or sweetened condensed milk for heavy cream, and add a lot more warming, fall spices. More flavor and less sugar, this custardy pumpkin filled pie is still full of flavor and spice.
Ingredients for Classic Pumpkin Pie
As mentioned before, many of these ingredients you may already have on hand, especially if you’re doing some holiday baking.
Pie Dough – I’ve enjoyed this with my All-Butter Flakey Pie Dough, but if you’re making this around the holidays, there’s no judgement for using a store-bought pie dough or shell.
Pumpkin – While I’ve enjoyed fresh pumpkin in soups and dips and other savory applications, a 15oz can of Libby’s pumpkin works best here.
Cream & Milk – I use a whole cup of heavy cream here, and thin it out slightly with a ¼ cup of whole milk. I prefer whole milk, but I usually have some on hand when making holiday dishes. If you don’t have whole milk, use any milk that you have.
Sugar – I’ve tried a few options here, but for this recipe I used ¼ cup white sugar and ½ cup of brown sugar. Light or dark is fine.
Eggs – Here I use 2 large eggs and 1 egg yolk for added richness. Reserve the egg white to brush on the crust as you par-bake it.
Spices – I use a mix of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground clove, and black pepper. You can also use Pumpkin Pie Spice, but still add more cinnamon and black pepper if your pie spice doesn’t include it. Also, a pinch of salt.
Cornstarch – Adds just a slight thickening ability as the pie cooks.
Vanilla – Just a bit of extract helps to mellow out the spices and the pumpkin.
How to Make Classic Pumpkin Pie
Preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C.
Roll out your dough to 12-13” and drape over a deep-dish pie pan or glass pie dish. Fill in the pie pan and tuck any extra dough underneath itself to form a thick edge. Crimp or flute the pie edge and brush the dough with the reserved egg white. Crumple some parchment paper and place on the pie dough. Fill with pie weights or equivalent and bake for 15-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the parchment paper with the weights. Return to oven for an additional 5-6 minutes until the bottom appears cooked. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and egg yolk and whisk until fully combined. Now add in the spices, vanilla, salt, and corn starch and whisk together. Slowly add the milk and cream and continue whisking until everything is fully mixed. Tap the mixing bowl against the counter a few times to remove any large air bubbles.
Pour the pie mixture into the prepared pie crust until almost full. Depending on your pie pan/dish you may or may not have a little mixture leftover. Set the pie dish onto a baking sheet and place into the oven. Reduce heat to 350°F/180°C and cook for 55-65 minutes. Check at the 20–30-minute mark and if the crust appears to be browning too quickly, cover with a pie shield. Continue cooking until the outer edges are mostly set and the center is still slightly jiggly.
Once cooked, remove from the oven, and allow to cool about 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before placing in the refrigerator or serve while still somewhat warm if you prefer. The flavors get even better the next day and refrigerating allows it to set more firmly.
Storing Classic Pumpkin Pie
Once cooled completely, you can store a pumpkin pie in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Wrap the pie dish with plastic wrap and allow the plastic wrap to touch the top surface of the pie to help keep it from getting watery or forming a skin.
If you wish to freeze a baked pumpkin pie, allow it to come to room temperature first. Wrap in plastic wrap, letting the wrap touch the top of the pie and wrap again in aluminum foil and place in the freezer. Pie freezes well for up to 1 month.
📋 Recipe
Classic Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 homemade pie dough or store-bought
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs, at room tempe
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature (egg white reserved)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, (see notes on spices)
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup milk, whole milk is best, any is fine
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C.
- Roll out your dough to 12-13” and drape over a deep-dish pie pan or glass pie dish. Fill in the pie pan and tuck any extra dough underneath itself to form a thick edge. Crimp or flute the pie edge and brush the dough with the reserved egg white. Crumple some parchment paper and place on the pie dough. Fill with pie weights or equivalent and bake for 15-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the parchment paper with the weights. Return to oven for an additional 5-6 minutes until the bottom appears cooked. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the 15oz pumpkin puree, ¼ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, and egg yolk and whisk until fully combined. Now add in the spices, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon corn starch and whisk together. Slowly add the ¼ cup of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream and continue whisking until everything is fully mixed. Tap the mixing bowl against the counter a few times to remove any large air bubbles.
- Pour the pie mixture into the prepared pie crust until almost full. Depending on your pie pan/dish you may or may not have a little mixture leftover. Set the pie dish onto a baking sheet and place into the oven. Reduce heat to 350°F/180°C and cook for 55-65 minutes. Check at the 20–30-minute mark and if the crust appears to be browning too quickly, cover with a pie shield. Continue cooking until the outer edges are mostly set and the center is still slightly jiggly.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven, and allow to cool about 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before placing in the refrigerator or serve while still somewhat warm if you prefer. The flavors get even better the next day and refrigerating allows it to set more firmly.
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