Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar Meringue & a #Pumpkin Recipe Round Up

Don’t know about you, but I am in serious denial. Denial that Thanksgiving is next week. Denial that Christmas is like 39 days away. Denial that I won’t be able to try all the new recipes I had planned for you. Denial that my house needs a top to bottom scrubbing before anyone can set their merry little toes in my doorway this season. We may need to form a support group.

As for Thanksgiving, I am not prepared. I had plans of posting main dishes and sides, but there was a hurricane, then some sick days, and me working some serious over time. All of which means I have had a giant turkey hogging valuable real estate in my freezer since October who is looking like he may be more of a New Years feast then Thanksgiving dinner.

What I do have for you though?  A killer pumpkin recipe round up.

1.) Pumpkin Pie Martini 2.) Gingersnap Spiced Mini Pumpkin Pies 3.) Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins 4.) Chai Pumpkin Spice Thumbprints

1.) Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls 2.) Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes 3.) Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Brownies 4.) Maple Pumpkin Stack Cake

1.) Pumpkin Pie Waffles 2.) Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Bars 3.) Pumpkin Cheesecake 4.) Pumpkin Pie Hot Cocoa

Now on to quite possibly, my most favorite pumpkin recipe to date. A dressed up classic pumpkin pie.

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Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar Meringue

adapted from BHG Special Interest Publication Fall Baking

Ingredients:

for the Pie:

• 1 recipe pie dough*
• 1 15oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teas ground ginger
• 1 teas pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teas salt
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup maple syrup

for the Brown Sugar Meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 teas vanilla
• 1/4 teas cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place your prepared pie crust and dish on a baking sheet to make handling the hot pie easier.

Mix the pumpkin, sugar, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, salt in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Scrape down sides and add eggs. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Mix in the milk and maple syrup until just combined.

Pour filling into your prepared pie crust. Cover the edges with foil or a silicon pie protector and bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Test the center of the pie with a knife. If it comes out clean, pie’s done. Set the pie (still on the baking sheet) aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Let the eggs come to room temperature for 30 minutes before preparing the meringue. (Use this time to clean your mixing bowl and dry it well).

In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs, vanilla, cream of tartar, and salt over medium speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add brown sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is running. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Spread the meringue evenly over the pumpkin pie, making sure to go from edge to edge with the meringue. Use the back of your spoon, pulling up, to form little peaks.

Place pie back into the oven and bake (keeping a watchful eye on your pie) for 15 minutes or until golden.

Cook pie on a wire rack. Loosely cover and refrigerate within two hours.

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Pie Dough for Prebaked Pie Shell

from Baking Illustrated

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teas salt
• 1 tbs sugar
• pinch of cinnamon
• 3 tbs vegetable shortening, chilled
• 4 tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4″ pieces
• 4 to 5 tbs ice water
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

Preparation:

Pulse the flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in the bowl of your food processor until combined. Add the shortening and process in short bursts until the mixture is like coarse sand. Open the food processor and toss the diced butter in. Cover again and pulse until the mixture is like coarse crumbs, about 10 1 second pulses.

Add 4 tbs of the water through the tube feed and process until dough comes together. If needed, add the remaining ice water.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, form into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour or up to two days before rolling.

If the dough has been in the fridge for longer than one hour, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

On a clean work surface, spread 2 tbs of graham cracker crumbs out in an even layer. Roll dough out, spreading more crumbs as needed, into a 12″ circle. Transfer the dough to a pie dish and gently press into the plate with your finger tips.  Trim the edges and and fold and flute the edges as desired.

Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 40 minutes. Transfer to freezer and freeze for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to the lower middle slow and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Take the dough out of the freezer and layer two sheets of aluminium foil over the pie, pressing into the pie shell and wrapping the edges. Pour ceramic weights over the aluminum foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Carefully remove from oven and using the aluminum foil, lift out the pie weights. Discard aluminum foil (or be cheap like me and reuse it to wrap the edges again while baking the pie). Bake for another 5 to 6 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven, adjust oven rack back to the center slot and continue with above pumpkin pie recipe.

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