This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Albertsons. All opinions are 100% mine.
Now that autumn is here and the temperatures are rapidly dropping, is there anything that screams fall more than pumpkin pie from scratch? Pumpkin pie is such a simple, satisfying dessert to make, and in this recipe, we take it up a notch by using our own pumpkin puree from a sweet pie pumpkin!
I shopped at Albertsons in my local area for my pumpkin pie ingredients, but you can also look for similar products at any of the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market, Tom Thumb and Vons.
Currently, Albertsons has small pie pumpkins for sale in their Pumpkin Patch display. When I visited, there were also a variety of other baked goods to choose from, like pumpkin spice cupcakes and macaroons. So if you need a whole dessert smorgasbord to complement your pumpkin pie from scratch (think Thanksgiving or a Halloween party), there are plenty of additional options to choose from, too!
To make your pie from scratch you can prep several of the ingredients ahead of time to make things a bit easier. For your pumpkin puree, you’ll need 3 cups for your filling. You can typically get 3 cups from a small-t0-medium sized pie pumpkin. Be sure to choose a pie pumpkin instead of a jack-o-lantern, as pie pumpkins are sweeter. They’re also smaller.
If you have a pressure cooker, place the pumpkin inside with some water and pressure cook until the pumpkin is soft. If your pumpkin is too large, you can cut it in half. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil your pumpkin or roast its halves face down on a baking sheet to soften the flesh.
Be sure to scoop out the seeds and discard (or save if you like to eat them). Then, scrape the flesh from the skin, place it in a bowl and puree to a smooth consistency. The flesh might be a little watery – that’s ok, as long as it’s not too thin. (See the above photo, third from the top row, for an image of the consistency of the puree.)
Measure out the puree until you have 3 cups. You can either use this immediately in your pie filling or bag and freeze it so you can have from-scratch pumpkin pie whenever you’d like!
In my pies, I prefer to make my crust from scratch, too. However, if you’d like to save time by purchasing a store bought pie crust, that’s perfectly fine too. Basically, choose your favorite crust or crust recipe and line a 9-inch pie dish with it.
Mix your pie filling ingredients and pour the filling into your prepared pie shell. Instead of using evaporated milk in this pie recipe (like many pumpkin pie recipes to), I like to keep it simple and use half and half instead.
Bake following the recipe instructions found below.
Let the pie cool to set. Enjoy warm or chilled, and treat yourself to a little whipped cream topping, too!
Don’t forget to tell your friends that this pumpkin pie is made with real pumpkin! Did you know that lots of canned pumpkin is actually a mixture of winter squashes like butternut, hubbard, and golden delicious?
And, don’t forget – Albertsons and Safeway also offer Grocery Delivery and DriveUp & Go™ for convenient ways to shop if you don’t want to have to spend time shopping for your pie ingredients!
- 1 small to medium sized pie pumpkin
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups pumpkin puree from a cooked pumpkin
- 1½ cups half and half
- 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extrat
- Make your pumpkin puree, either in a pressure cooker, by boiling the pumpkin, or by roasting it. The goal is to soften the pumpkin flesh until it's easy to scoop away from the skin and puree into a smooth consistency. Don't forget to remove the seeds. The easiest way to puree the pumpkin is with an immersion blender, but a standard blender will work, too.
- Make enough puree to equal 3 cups.
- Roll out your pie dough until it is slightly larger than your pie dish. Place into your pie dish with about an inch overhang all around the edge of the dish. Flute the edges of the dough.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Mix all filling ingredients well using a hand whisk or electric mixer. The mixture may appear very runny, but it will thicken up in the oven.
- Pour the filling into your pie crust.
- Place the filled pie into your preheated oven and bake at 425 degrees F for the first 15 minutes. (Prior to placing the pie into the oven I like to put a pie shield around the crust to prevent it from over-baking and getting too dark. If you don't have a dedicated pie shield, you can simply cover the edges of your crust with a loosely-draped layer of tinfoil. I leave my pie shield on the crust for the entire duration of the bake time.)
- After you have baked the pie at 425 degrees F for the first 15 minutes, turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F. Bake for another 45 to 60 minutes (I usually end up at about 60 minutes), until a clean knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.
- Cool the pie.
- While it cools, get your whipping cream ready.
- Place all whipping cream ingredients into a bowl. Whip at high speed for about 3-4 minutes until stiff peaks form. (Be careful not to over-whip, though.)
- Top your pie slices with the whipped cream and sprinkle with a touch of cinnamon.
