A Most Delicious Pumpkin Pie

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in Canada. And when most of us think of thanksgiving, two things that almost always come to mind are turkey and pumpkin pie.

.

(We also think of gluttony, stretch pants, Bromo Seltzer and promises that will never be kept, such as "I'll never do this again!" Thankfully, God can forgive us ALL our sins and love us in spite of our foolishness.)

.

I've been making pumpkin pie from scratch for the past couple of years. Sorry Libbys! But as much as I appreciate your large-can pumpkiny-ness, you just don't compare to small, round, sweet Sugar Pumpkins!

.

I normally use my friend's recipe, but I couldn't find it this year. So, I went to one of my favorite cookbooks, The Harrowsmith Country Life Baking Book. It's full of delicious receipes; I've tried a lot of them and never had a dud!

.

The actual recipe is called "Pumpkin-Orange Pie in a Walnut Crust". Doesn't that sound gorgeous? But as I already had the pastry chilling in the fridge, I didn't make the walnut crust (next time). I followed the ingredients exactly and it was wonderful! and dare I say, even a little healthy. Ahhh, yogurt people! I do think, however, that the measurements for the spices and the orange zest can be cut-back ever so slightly. But let me tell you -- this one was a winner!

(And I know you can all tell that this picture is an internet stock photo and not my actual piece of pie. It's obvious because this piece is much too small and everyone knows that you're not supposed to see the actual pie under the mound of whipped cream! Like DUH!)

.

Here, ladies and gentlemen, is the Harrowsmith recipe: my modified measurements are in red and the original measurements are in black in brackets.

.

..................................

.

Crust

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup ground walnuts

3 Tbsp oil

1/4 orange juice or water

1/2 tsp cinnamon

.

Combine crust ingredients and press into a 9" pie pan. Set aside.

.

Filling

2 cups cooked, pureed pumpkin

1.5 cups plain yogurt

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 scant tsp ginger

1/4 scant tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp allspice (1/4 tsp)

1/16 tsp cloves (1/8 tsp)

1 tsp grated orange zest (1 Tbsp)

.

To make filling, beat together (or puree in food processor) pumpkin, yogurt, orange juice, sugars and eggs. Add salt, spices and orange zest; and stir until thoroughly blended. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan.

.

Bake at 425 F deg for 15 min, then lower temperature to 350 deg F and continue baking for 45 min or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.

.

(I used a standard size deep dish pie pan and the baking time was roughly 1 hr 15 min.)

..............................

.

.

The smell of this pie while cooking is divine and reminded me of Christmas. So, it'll be perfect for American Thanksgiving coming up in November. Enjoy!

.

.

.

.