My Favorite Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel

I was getting ready to post my pumpkin ginger cheesecake, one of my signature dishes around the holidays. I started to look through pictures, making sure that I hadn't posted it already. This is what I found from last year. They look like babes in arms compared to this year. I like them just like this, chubby cheeked and smiling. These were our guests.and this was our dinner last year. Here's Dad reading to the kids later in the evening.

If you peeked in on us this year, I suspect it would look just about the same, except for last year's wee ones are a bit taller and trimmer and there are new little babies taking their place. When it's all said and done, even though Thanksgiving is a truckload of work, I am so happy to be able to share it with my family. My whippersnappers aren't going to be little forever. I'm so glad they have such happy memories with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. They might not be little forever, but a happy memory is eternal.

After looking through all my old pictures and posts, I discovered that I hadn't shared my ultimate favorite Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel. I will still post my cheesecake, but it's going to take a backseat. (Don't worry Heidi-I'll still make you one for your birthday.) The cheesecake can stick around through New Year's but this pie, this pie is all about Thanksgiving. I found the recipe in Bon Appetit in 1994, when I was a college student. I've since tinkered, but the credit should be theirs. (The original top-rated recipe is here. )The spiced pumpkin filling is silky and rich, just like you would expect. What makes the pie exceptional is the ginger scented pecan streusel topping. I have to guard this pie like a hawk, or my pesty little brother Roy will steal all the streusel off the top. It's a little game we play, he and I. We've been raging a pumpkin pie war for sixteen years now and I wouldn't have it any other way. Make my pie and drive your own little brothers crazy. It's all part of the happy memories.

Money Saving Tips: Stock up on canned pumpkin this week when you can get it for a buck. Substitute evaporated milk for the half and half, if you don't have it on hand. Walnuts would be everybit as nice as pecans, if you can find them for cheaper this week.

Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel, adapted from Bon Appetit

1 pie crust, partially baked (click here for my recipe and tutorial)

Filling:

1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
1 1/2 cups half and half
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1 tablespoon finely minced crystallized ginger, optional
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.For filling:Whisk all ingredients in large bowl until combined. Pour into partially baked, cooled pie crust. Bake until skin begins to form on filling and filling begins to set, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven. Let pie stand 10 minutes to set slightly. Maintain oven temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare topping:Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture begins to form small clumps. Sprinkle topping over pie. Bake until pie is set and streusel is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Next Up: Summit House Corn

Labor Day Dinner with Raspberry Pie for Dessert

All I ever want to eat for Labor Day is the best that the changing seasons have to offer. I opened my window this morning and I could feel the Fall coming in. September is like a cool breeze of hope for those of us who live in scorching climes. It's a hint of Autumn in the mornings and evenings, sandwiching warm, sunny days. All of the wonderful summer garden bounty is still ripe for the picking-corn, watermelon, juicy tomatoes. But the Fall harvest is beginning also-apples, late raspberries, wintersquash. And, mama, I want it all. Give me a piece of corn on the cob with an apple turnover on the side. So here's what we're having for dinner on Labor Day, to celebrate the very best of late summer. Now for dessert: I've been thinking about Raspberry pie all week long. I thought about it when I was balancing my checkbook, when I was teaching my college students about Galileo, when I was peeling potatoes. I had to stop the madness and make one. It's fantastic. Except now I want another one, so the madness really hasn't stopped at all. Betcha can't stop thinking about it, too now. It's fantastic and contagious, this berry pie obsession. Happy Labor Day, my dear, clever readers. Be safe and take it easy.
Grilled Steaks with Mushrooms, Blue Cheese and Red Bell Pepper

Mexican Corn on the Cob

Avocado and Nectarine SaladRoasted Red Potatoes and an Assortment of Potato Chips for Kids
For Dessert:
Watermelon
Miniature Apple Turnovers
Raspberry Pie (recipe to follow) served with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream End of Summer Raspberry Pie
Cost: as cheap as $6.00 if you can get a good deal on berries-now's the time!
Notes: I used frozen berries that I bought cheap a few weeks ago. No problem whatsoever.
double pie crust (click here for my tutorial), or purchase them
4 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup flour
squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon cream or milk
more sugar, for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard piedish with one pie crust. In a large bowl, combine berries, sugar, and flour, and lemon squeeze if using. Pour into piecrust. Dot with butter. Top with remaining piecrust. Poke holes with a fork to vent steam. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Place prepared pie on cookie sheet. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until crust is browned and raspberries are bubbling.
Happy Labor Day!

Chunky Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Pie

This long holiday weekend made for a whole lot of celebrating, didn't it? In a rare burst of spontaneity, we took a road trip. We left town around 7 PM Friday night (exactly 30 minutes after deciding to go-don't even ask me about all the things I forgot to bring) and made the four and hour drive to my sister Heidi's house. I'm so glad we did. She hosted an Anytown USA Patriotic holiday weekend. We hiked a waterfall near her house, had a picnic on the lawn, made crafts-a robot for West and a skirt for Sailor,and had fireworks in the driveway.
Here's a pic of the cousins, looking spiffy for Fourth of July church.And here's my brood, taking advantage of my sister's Americana porch for a family portrait. I wish you could have tasted the food. Well, actually you can, since most of the recipes came from right here. We had peach barbecue chicken, fried chicken, dill potato salad, baked beans, watermelon, corn on the cob, homemade rolls, Texas Sheet Cake, and this peanut butter pie.
Holy Bottle Rocket, this pie was mmm,mmm good. And peanut butter is one of those distinctly American flavors, so that makes it even more perfect for a patriotic holiday. Hope you all had a great, long weekend. Now get some rest.
Chunky Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Pie
Recipe from Taste of South Magazine
Estimated Cost: $5.00 for 12 servings
Serve with lots of vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce!
1 prepared unbaked pie crust
1 cup Domino’s Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup King Arthur Mellow Pastry Blend Flour
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Spanish peanuts, skins removed and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup peanut butter morsels
1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
On a lightly floured surface, roll piecrust to 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer and press into a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp edge, if desired. (Edge may be slightly uneven.)
In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, peanut butter, and butter, mixing well. Add eggs, vanilla, peanuts, peanut butter morsels, and chocolate morsels. Transfer filling to prepared piecrust.
Bake until firm in the middle, approximately 45 minutes.
Next Up:
Pasta Primavera

Simple Strawberry Tart

If I was wishing for my kids to stay babies in my last post, I just may have gotten my wish. In a round-about way. This week, I'm borrowing a ticket to Babyland. My sister Mary Kate and her husband are off to the Cayman Islands, and I'm watching their five children- their five children plus my two charges, so seven total. Here are the ages of my new brood: 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 3, .75. We will have great fun, I think. But the truth is, I'm a little bit scared. I don't know if I have what it takes to mother a big group of kids. I don't wake up in the middle of the night, change diapers, keep my eye on run away toddlers, or clean high chairs. I'm hoping it'll be just like riding a bike, and I"ll be able to hop right on and get into beach cruising mode. Or at least mountain biking mode, with few bumps but clear, majestic views. Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here is my Tuesdays with Dorie assignment for a Simple Classic French Tart.

I couldn't find my tart pan (Do you have it, Mom?), so it isn't exactly a tart. If you haven't got tart pan, your pie plate will work splendidly.

I used only strawberries, since they are the cheapest berry for this time of year. The pie was positively scrumptious, a perfect combination of creamy pastry cream, shortbread crust, and jam-glazed berries. I can't wait to make it again.

But I'm not certain I can take that on while I'm babysitting. I'll keep you posted on all my (mis)adventures this week.

Click here for the Recipe for Simple Classic French Tart

Scroll down to the right post.

Up Next:

Asian Steak Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

Apple Pie in a Brown Bag

I'd like you to meet someone. It's your new favorite pie. If you've never heard of a Brown Bag Apple Pie, think of a simple vanilla spiked pat-in crust, a luscious cinnamon laced apple filling covered with a buttery streusel topping, all baked inside of a paper grocery bag so that it gently steams and the sugars carmelize. This is "THE" apple pie, the one you'll be making again and again. It's the pie everyone will be requesting for years to come. It's the pie that sent reader "Lucky" on a wild goose chase (or should I say pie chase?) through Ohio. Here's what she wrote in the comment section

"Brown bag apple pie! I can't wait! My husband once sent us on a chase all through Ohio Amish country looking for one because he had seen it on some news segment years ago...the only clue he had was that it should only take a tank of gas to get there from Cleveland and you buy the pie from a restaurant on a hill. We found it, but it would be much easier if I could make one at home!"

Oh, yes. You can make it at home and save yourself a tank of gas in the process.

But I also wanted to share this pie for my cousin Julie, who was hunting for a good recipe. I didn't know cousin Julie very well growing up, when we were only a few minutes apart geographically. I was an obnoxious, wild maniac kind of short haired, tough-skin kid, and Julie was wise and reserved, hiding under a brown bag of shyness. I saw glimmers growing up, but I really didn't know how hilarious, witty, open, deep-thinking, inspiring, and intelligent Julie was. Now I know, so she's stuck with me in her blogging backpocket for life. Prudy plus cousin Julie, BFFs. See for yourself, right here.

And now for Lucky, Julie, and the rest of you all, let's make that pie. This is the world's simplest crust; just grab a clean-handed nearby kid to press it into the pan for you. These are Sailor's hands. Sometimes I use her hands in pictures and readers think that they are my hands. Mine are old and haggard and they are coming up in later pictures. I don't want to take credit for young, nubile hands.

Next you peel and prep the apples, coating them with cinnamon and sugar. Pour it into your crust and pat it down. These are the old hands I was telling you about, the ones that need Palmolive Madge to come over and give her some pointers.

Sprinkle the topping over the apples. Place the pie in a brown bag. Ask your grocer for a plain brown bag, or use an old paper gift bag. Secure the bag with staples and place the bagged pie on a cookie sheet. Bake for two hours without peeking. Peel back the bag.

Watch out for steam and bubbling, caramelized juices.

Don't wait for Turkey day; devour it on the spot. You can always make another one.

Apple Pie in a Brown Bag

Estimated Cost: $5.00

Notes: Position your rack to the lowest spot in the oven.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

Filling

5 medium baking apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced ( I like Granny Smith for this pie.)

2tablespoons all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

Topping:

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into bits

Preheat oven to 350. Blend all crust ingredients in a large bowl. Pat into nine inch dish. Wipe out bowl with paper towel. Blend filling ingredients in same bowl. Pour into pie crust and pat apples down. Wipe out same bowl with paper towels. Combine flour and sugar for topping in same bowl. Cut in butter with pie cutter or knives. Sprinkle over apples in pie. Place pie in brown bag. Staple bag shut or secure with paper clips and place on cookie sheet . Bake on lowest rack in preheated oven at 350 for two hours. NO PEEKING. Also, PLEASE make sure that your bag is not touching the sides or top of the oven. There may be a slight paper burning smell, and that's just fine. Remove from oven and let stand for ten minutes. Carefully remove from bag, watching out for steam. Serve nice and warm, if possible, or make it a day early and reheat it by the slice in the microwave.

PS Last night it was daring and dashing West, so I didn't have to make any cumbersome appearances behind him on stage. I wore a long, dark winter coat, just in case. If you don't understand a word I just said, scroll down and read yesterday's post.

PSS There are only THREE days left to vote at French's. Click here. And bless your little ol' voting hearts.

Next Up:

Got any Thanksgiving backing questions????

The Thanksgiving Hotline....

A Perfect Pie Crust 101

Along with being eaten by sharks and giving a speech in public, many people are afraid to make a pie crust. A pie crust has no teeth whatsoever and can be done in absolute privacy, so let's abolish that fear so that a new dread can move into its spot. With a little practice, making a beautiful, flaky piecrust is actually elementary, my dear Watson
So let's make a pie crust, shall we?
A few tools will make your job a little easier. Waxed paper and a rolling pin, I wouldn't make a pie without them. If you have a pie cutter, your job will be quicker, but you can use two butter knives instead. I really can't say why I took a picture of a fork and ice water. They're not exactly special equipment, and if you don't have access to a fork and some cold water, then making the perfect pie crust isn't your most pressing issue.
In a large bowl, using a fork, combine 2 and 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt and a teaspon sugar.
Let's talk a little about fat and flavor. Fact: Shortening produces a flakier crust than butter. Fact: Most people prefer the flavor of butter to shortening. Opinion: You need both butter and shortening to make a piecrust that has both the perfect structure and flavor. It's more expensive, but I like to buy the shortening in cubes (pictured above) in the baking section of the market. I only use shortening for pie crusts, and if I buy even the smallest can, I end up having to throw it out. The cubes are individually sealed and premeasured, so they're ideal for butter-bakers, like me.
I use half shortening/half butter, both of which should be firm and chilled. Dice them both into small pieces.
Use your pie cutter to "cut" the fat into the dry ingredients. You can use two knives in a slicing motion, if you're piecutter-less. It takes just a couple of minutes of constant cutting before the mixture resembles coarsemeal, with a few larger-pea size pieces. Stop there! You want bits of uneven fat throughout the mixture that will melt into your dry ingredients and create layers of flakes.
Take your ice water now and drizzle 6 tablespoons over your dusty dough. Use a fork to mix in the water and try to gather it into a ball. I neglected to take a picture of the drizzling process, because my sister came over with this dear little baby. She's my dear little friend. She's wearing dear little pink pajamas and looking at me with a dear little Gerber expression. I can't stop saying dear little whenever she is around, so shall we get back to my dear little pie?
Now, 6 tablespoons is NEVER enough water for my pie crust, so I always end up drizzling at least 1-2 tablespoons more. Go slowly, and get just enough in there to make the pie crust come into a ball. If you err, err on the side of too much water. It's just too hard to roll out a bone-dry pie crust. Here's my ball of dough just after I stopped sprinkling water and staring at the dear little baby visitor. Get out a generous sheet of waxed paper and a pen. We're going to trace a 12 inch circle onto our waxed paper as a size guide for rolling out the crust. (Just flip the waxed paper over after you make your circle, so that no ink comes in contact with your crust.) Put your crust in the middle of the circle and pat it out a little to make your rolling job a little easier. (If your pie crust is at all moist, lightly flour your waxed paper.) Pat your dough out from the center. There's very little rolling to do, if you pat your pie crust down first. But let's roll now. Start from the center and push lightly on the rolling pin. Move your pin 1/8th of a turn, and continue around the pie, pushing the crust to just outside your circle guide. If you like, you can trim your pie to a perfect circle with a pair of kitchen shears. I never do, but I always think it would be nice. Now, lightly flour the top of your pie crust and fold it in half with the waxed paper. Peel back 1/2 of the waxed paper and place the piecrust down into your piepan, centering the fold line with the middle of the pan. Peel of the rest of the waxed paper and unfold. IMPORTANT: Don't try to make the pie crust look pretty yet, I repeat do not try to make the pie crust look pretty yet. This is where most people make their mistake, and I'm speaking from experience because I did it for years. It's shaggy and uneven, I know, but we're going to fix it. Right now we're just going to build up a ridge. Fold up the extra pie crust over itself to create an even ridge around the top of the pie dish. If you have too much crust in one area, pull it off and add it where you need it. This still needs a little bit of work. When you have it as even as you like, then you can make it look nice. Force your knuckle into sections of dough, pinching it into place with your fingers on the other side. Go all the way around the pie. Now, take a look at the OUTSIDE of your pie dish. Oh, dear. If there's anything hanging over the edge too far, fix it now so it doesn't break off during the baking process. Much better.
And there you are, a beautiful blank canvas. It's ready to fill if you're making pumpkin, apple or berry pie, or ready to pre bake, if you are making quiche, cream pies, or pecan. It's just waiting for you, so get cracking.
Perfect Pie Crust
Estimated Cost: $1.25
Notes: Making your own piecrust is inexpensive and delicious!
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
5 tablespoons cold shortening
5 tablespoons cold butter
6 tablespoons and more ice water
Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut in fats. Drizzle with ice water and shape into ball. Roll out and place in 8 or 9 inch pie dish.
Post Edit: Another wise Prudence from the comment section asked me some very good questions that I should have included, so here goes. I'm glad my readers are so on the ball, since I can be a bit of a ninny. You CAN freeze this pie dough very easily. I prefer to freeze it BEFORE rolling it out and let it thaw in the fridge for a couple of hours. It will freeze magnificentally, which is why you should always make a double batch at least.
Have you voted at French's today? Click right here! It's easier and faster than baking a pie! So head on over. And a million thank yous. My new goal is 300 votes, since I just passed 200, thanks to all of you.