Pumpkin Pie!!

Nothing like waiting until after the holidays to post a pumpkin pie recipe!  Oh well.  Though, pumpkin pie is so good, why not have it year round?

This pumpkin pie recipe is basically the standard Libby's recipe found on canned pumpkin everywhere.  I did deviate from it a little by using a fresh pumpkin puree made from roasted pumpkin flesh.  Mmmm...Pumpkin flesh.

I was a little concerned using my own pumpkin because it was not as thick as the canned variety, but I did it anyway.  I measured the pumpkin by weight (15 oz.) rather than volume, if that makes any difference.  

A quick aside:  If you don't have a digital kitchen scale, get one, and measure by weight over volume as much as possible.  I would go into it more, but that's best left for another post.  Maybe on latent chestnut.  Does that still exist?  Oh yeah, maybe something will pop up there soon.

Back to the pie.  It turned out great!  Smooth, creamy, sweet, pumpkinny goodness.  It had just the right amount of spiciness, and perfect with a dollop of whipped cream.  Libby got it right.  I won't get into the nuances of flavor because I'm sure we all know what pumpkin pie tastes like.  But homemade is almost always better, and using fresh pumpkin only elevated the flavors. 

As I was looking through Nonna's recipe cards for pumpkin pie, I found an old Libby's recipe card.  The recipe is the same as the one used today except for the amount of one ingredient; sugar.  The old recipe calls for 1/4 cup of sugar, compared to 3/4 cups today.  Three times the amount of sugar is quite an increase.  It is also interesting that one of the serving suggestions on the card is for wedges of sharp cheddar cheese.

I was unable to find any information on when the recipe made the switch from 1/4 to 3/4 cups of sugar.  Maybe pumpkin pie was more of a savory delight back then.  As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing wrong with the recipe the way it is written now.

Pumpkin Pie!!
Printable Recipe

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cup Libby's pumpkin (15 oz. can)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 2/3 cup evaporated milk (12 oz can)
9 inch unbaked pastry shell

Mix ingredients in order given. Pour into pastry shell. Bake in hot oven (425) 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to moderate (350) and bake 45 minutes more. Or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Double for 2 pies.