Easy, medium & hard recipes for holiday pumpkin pie

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Thanksgiving dinner isn’t complete without the classic dishes everyone has grown to know and love.

Maybe you prefer the green bean casserole, or maybe you have an affinity for Grandma’s stuffing. Whatever your favorite dish, there is one thing that can’t be forgotten: pumpkin pie.

With an easy, medium and hard recipe, you can choose what makes the most sense for your experience and timeline. Heck, maybe you just like to buy a pumpkin pie at the bakery and burn a scented candle in your kitchen to give the effect of a pie in the oven.

If you are feeling ambitious and want to spend an evening baking instead of faking it this year, the easy recipe is for you.

Easy Recipe: Famous Pumpkin Pie

Courtesy of Nestle

Total Prep: 3 hrs, 10 mins | Active: 15 mins | Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp. ground cloves
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin
  • 1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
  • 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
  • Whipped cream (optional)

Instructions:

Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Now, maybe you want a little bit of a challenge, but still don’t want to roast your own pumpkin. In that case, the medium recipe, which combines the filling from the easy recipe with a homemade crust, is perfect for you. Making the crust from scratch is an easy way to set your pie apart from the store-bought variety. 

Medium Recipe: Famous Pumpkin Pie with Flaky Pie Crust

Courtesy of Nestle and Williams-Sonoma

Total Prep: 3 hrs, 20 mins | Active: 25 mins | Yield: 10 servings

Filling Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp. ground cloves
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin
  • 1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk

Flaky Pie Crust Ingredients:

  • 5 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter
  • 3 Tbsp. cold vegetable shortening
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. salt

Instructions:

Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt, and stir to mix. Scatter the butter and shortening pieces over the flour mixture. Using a fork, toss to coat with the flour. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter and the shortening until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of peas. Drizzle the ice water over the mixture and toss with the fork until the dough is evenly moist and begins to come together in a mass, but does not form a ball.

Cover a clean surface and hands with some all-purpose flour. Start rolling out the crust dough with a rolling pin that is also dusted with flour. Roll out into a circle shape to fit your pan and transfer the crust to the pan using the rolling pin. Pour the filling into the crust.

Bake in preheated 425 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

If you are bound and determined to make a pumpkin pie entirely from scratch, this last recipe is for you. From an actual pumpkin to a delicious pie, the process here is a little more complicated than the easy and medium difficulty recipes above.

Hard Recipe: From Scratch Pumpkin Pie

Courtesy of Nancy Fuller, Food Network

Total Prep: 3 hrs, 35 mins | Active: 35 mins | Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sugar pumpkin (about 3 lbs.)
  • Canola oil, for oiling pumpkin
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ⅔ cup (11 Tbsp.) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • One 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ cup whipping cream
  • 2 Tbsp. corn starch
  • 2 Tbsp. molasses
  • 2 Tbsp. canola oil
  • 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 3 large eggs

Instructions:

For the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the stem and scrape out the insides, discarding the seeds. Cut the pumpkin in half and lay the pieces cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Rub canola oil all over the skin and bake until fork-tender, about 1 hour. Let cool.

For the easy pie crust: While the pumpkin is cooking, make the crust. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add in the butter and work into the dough with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in just enough cold water (4 to 5 Tbsp.) with a fork just until the flour is moistened. Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a ball and flatten slightly. Wrap one ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for another use.

Roll out the remaining dough ball on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch round. Transfer to a 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold the overhangs under and crimp decoratively. Pierce the dough all over with a fork. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Line the crust with foil, fill with dried beans or pie weights and bake until the sides are set, about 12 minutes. Remove the foil and beans. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

For the filling: Scoop out the pulp from the roasted pumpkin and puree in a food processor until smooth (you should have about 4 cups). Add the condensed milk, cream, corn starch, molasses, canola oil, cinnamon, ginger, salt and eggs, and combine thoroughly.

Pour the filling into the crust and bake until the filling is set in the center, about 1 hour. Transfer the pie to a rack and cool for 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

5 Great Places to Buy a Pumpkin Pie in Columbus

  1. Mrs. Goodman’s Baking Co., Worthington
  2. Smith Farm Market, east Columbus
  3. Just Pies, Clintonville/Westerville/Gahanna
  4. Resch’s Bakery, east Columbus
  5. Omega Artisan Baking, North Market

Jenny Wise is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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