Thankful Pumpkin Pie is made with fresh pumpkin and a homemade crust, plus a heartfelt message on top.
I got the idea for this pie from Sunday school last week. Once a month, I help teach my son's 5th grade Sunday school class. A very clever girl, named Kirby, came up with the cutest idea for a craft project. We made "thankful pies" out of paper plates. One plate was decorated to look like your favorite pie with one piece cut out. Then place on top of another plate with lines drawn on it to show where you would cut out your 8 pieces of pie. Each pie slice stated something you were thankful for. I even made one because I thought it was such a great idea and so fun. I made a cherry pie and these are the things I'm thankful for: Jesus, family, America, health, pets, baking, bible study, and seasons. My son made a blueberry pie. This is what he is thankful for: being a Christian, family, sports, survival and a roof over his head.
Then I came home and noticed that I had a cute little fresh pumpkin that had been sitting on my counter since Halloween. I decided to bake it up and make a real Thankful Pumpkin Pie!
I cut it in half and scooped out the guts. Then placed cut side down on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I baked it at 350°F. for about 2 hours, then let it cool.
Since I was using fresh pumpkin, I just had to make a homemade crust too. I mixed up the dough very quickly in my food processor. Then rolled it out on a floured surface to form about a 12" circle.
Then I carefully transferred the crust to a 9-inch pie plate by wrapping it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pie plate. Then I trimmed the edge. I rolled out the scraps and cut little leaves to place around the edges. I used a little bit of water to make them stick.
Here's a mini leaf cutter set that's available on Amazon (affiliate):
Once the pumpkin was cooled, I scooped it out of the shell. Then mixed with all of the filling ingredients (reserving 1 tablespoon of beaten egg).
I poured the filling in the prepared crust then brushed the edges with the reserved beaten egg.
Then I cut these words out of the dough scraps. I baked the pie for 25 minutes, removed it from the oven, and added the letters, plus a few extra leaves. I brushed with beaten eggs and baked for 25 minutes more.
Here are the letter cutters I used if you want to order them on Amazon (affiliate):
Voila! My Thankful Pumpkin Pie came out so well! Such a fun project and so meaningful as well. I truly am thankful and count my blessings every day; not just on Thanksgiving. I'm especially thankful for YOU. Thank you for reading my blog and following along with my baking adventures.
What are you thankful for this year? And what kind of pie are you making for your holiday meal? Let me know in the comments and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Happy baking!
Thankful Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 140g
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- â…“ cup unsalted butter cold and chopped into cubes
- 3 ½ tablespoons ice water
For the filling:
- 1 small fresh pumpkin about 2 pounds
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Start by baking the pumpkin. Cut it in half and scoop out the guts. Place cut side down on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F. for 2 hours. Let cool and scoop out pumpkin. Set aside.
For the crust
- Place flour and salt in a food processor. Add cubes of butter. Put the lid on and turn it on. Pour water into the mixture while the food processor is running. Let it run until a ball of dough is formed.
- Lightly flour a clean area of your counter top. Place dough on floured surface and sprinkle a little more flour on top. Roll dough from center to edges, forming a circle about 12" in diameter. Wrap pastry around rolling pin. Unroll onto a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate.
- Roll out extra pieces of dough and use a mini leaf cookie cutter to cut leaves and place around edge of crust. Save a little bit of dough to create the letters for the top of the pie.
For the filling
- Place all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl (reserving 1 tablespoon beaten egg) and beat with an electric mixer on medium until thoroughly combined. Pour into prepared crust.
- Brush the edges with beaten egg. Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and add letters, plus some extra leaves. Brush with beaten egg. Bake for 25 minutes more. Let cool slightly before serving. Store at room temperature for one day, then store covered for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
This post is featured on Meal Plan Monday at The Southern Plate.
clippingpathlab says
Then mixed with all of the filling ingredients reserving 1 tablespoon of beaten egg .