Fall Pies: Pecan and Pumpkin
It's almost that turkey time of year...THANKSGIVING (the Canadian one at least)! Two of our favorite pies to eat and make for this holiday, are pecan and pumpkin. This years no exception! So much to be thankful for. We hope you have a fabulous long weekend surrounded by family and laughter!
Martha Stewart's Pie Crust
Time: Takes minutes to make, but allow 1 hour to cool in refrigerator (up to 3 days). OR put in freezer and it will last 6 months.
Yields enough for 2 pies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time). To help ensure a flaky crust, do not overprocess.
Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough. Makes 2 disks.
We used a pumpkin shaped cookie cuter to make mini pumpkins for the top of our pie!
Pecan Pie
Active time: 30 minutes
Inactive time: 5-6 hours
You will need to let this cool and properly set for about 5-6 hours. We suggest making it the night before!
Ingredients
1/2 recipe (1 disk) Basic Pie Dough, rolled out and fitted into a 9-inch pie plate
4 large eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups pecan halves
Optional: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. with rack set in lowest position.
Roll dough and make sure it's bigger than the pie plate. Use flour on a rolling pin to make sure it doesn't stick. Roll in one direction constantly turning the crust. Once it's big enough place it in the pie plate. Cut remainder off leaving 1 inch of overhang, which you will then fold under itself along the rim. Create a beautiful rim by pinching between thumb and forefinger. Once it looks uniform, put the pie plate in the refrigerator until you make the filling.
Make filling: In a sauce pan, heat the butter and whisk in sugars for about 5 minutes. Then let it cool for ten minutes. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, corn syrup, sugars, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth; mix in pecans. Pour mixture into chilled pie crust; place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling jiggles slightly in the center when gently shaken, 50 to 60 minutes.
Cool pie completely in plate, 5 to 6 hours. Top it with whipped cream or ice cream (our favorite)!
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 can (398 mL) Pure Pumpkin
1 cup (250 mL) packed brown sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground ginger
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt 3/4 cup (175 mL) evaporated milk
Direction
Roll out dough, transfer to pie plate, and crimp edges edges.
Beat eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt – stir until well combined. Blend in milk. Pour filling in pie shell. Whisk together egg and water – brush the egg wash on crust.
Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and continue baking 30-35 minutes longer or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool.
