All-Scratch Pumpkin Pie (from real life pumpkins!)

As you all know, every break from school means experimentation in the kitchen. This break, I decided to go for a classic recipe entirely from scratch.

It was pretty darn good, or so I'm told. If I'm being entirely honest, I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, so I actually appreciated the apple pie we bought from a local restaurant more ;)

All-Scratch Pumpkin Pie

If you're doing this all at once, I would recommend that you get the pumpkin in the oven, then prepare the crust while it's cooking. Once your puree is done, you can go straight into pie-making!

I definitely recommend clicking through to the source if you're at all nervous about making the pumpkin puree! PickYourOwn has a very comprehensive guide with photos for every step. That being said, it was honestly pretty easy to do in the oven.

Pumpkin Puree from PickYourOwn
yields about 3 cups of pumpkin puree

1 pie pumpkin
large serrated knife
fairly large oven-safe casserole dish

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Wash your pumpkin with soap and water. You won't be eating the outside, but it's kind of like opening cans--you don't want any rat poop in your food. I used a potato brush, but it was probably overkill. 
2. Cut your pumpkin in half and scoop out all the guts (seeds, stringy orange bits, etc.). I used an ice cream scoop that had kind of a sharp edge, but a regular spoon would work fine as well. When you're done, it should just be the pale, hard flesh left.
3. Put your pumpkin in the casserole dish. You may have to cut it into more pieces, but try to put the fleshy side down as much as possible.

   

   (post-roast, but gives you an idea of the arrangement)

   
   
4. Cover your dish (either with the associated lid or with foil) and bake in the oven for 45-90 minutes. (It really varies based on your pumpkin. Start testing it at 45 minutes--mine took around an hour.)
5. Once your pumpkin is out, give it 10 or 15 minutes to cool, and then separate the flesh from the skin. (If it's fully roasted, this should be very easy to do.)

   

   
    

6. Blend up your pumpkin puree. I recommend a hand blender or food processor. It shouldn't take long to get your pumpkin to a smooth consistency.

Any basic pie crust recipe from any cook book or website will do fine--just make sure you're making for a pie shell, not a double-crusted pie. 

#uglysweaterftw

The filling for this pie is enough to either fill two standard (shallow) 9-inch pie pans OR one deep-dish 10-inch pie pan (which I used) plus a little extra for teensy pumpkin flans.

aforementioned teensy pumpkin flans

Pumpkin pie filling also from PickYourOwn

1 cup sugar

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1.5 cans evaporated milk (12 oz each)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1/2 tsp mace (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Nothing complicated here. Just throw everything together and mix it up until smooth. Pour it all into your pie crust until it's full, then bake for 15 minutes at 425. Then, lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another 45-60 minutes (until inserted knife comes out clean). 

Apple Cinnamon Bread

What does fall mean? According to Texan myth, in the Damn Yankee States (where we dare not journey), their trees are so pitiful that all of their leaves fall off in October. Supposedly, this is where the name "fall" comes from.

Here in Texas, where the trees are competent enough to retain their leaves at least through November, we only adopt the nicer customs of this "fall" season. So, raking leaves? Not necessary. Sweaters? You'll only need them from 5 to 8 in the morning. No, the only thing Those Damn Yankees got right was fall baking.

And this particular recipe is basically perfect.

I mean, it's soft and cinnamony and very, very appley, and it made the whole apartment smell like the essence of fall. 

This is definitely more of a breakfastey recipe, but it's so delicious that I keep eating it for dessert anyway. 

Anyway, if you like apples, cinnamon, or the American Dream, I would definitely recommend this recipe.

Apple Cinnamon Bread (from Brown Eyed Baker)

makes 1 loaf

1½ c all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground allspice [Substitution: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg]

¼ tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
¼ c canola oil
¼ c applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c granulated sugar
2 c peeled and chopped apples (about 1½ to 2 apples)

Topping
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl with a mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add in the oil, applesauce and vanilla and mix until smooth. Next, add the sugar and mix until well-combined.

4. Gradually add in the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the flour is just barely combined. Gently fold in the apples with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

5. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a dull knife around the sides of the loaf and place on cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap leftover loaf in plastic wrap or in airtight container and store at room temperature.