This can posed for me in the Rokeby back kitchenGenerally I am an advocate of using whole, local, and fresh foods. Baking from scratch. So I hope it doesn't seem blasphemous to confess that when it comes to pumpkin pie, I am all about canned purée. You should know that I arrived at this conclusion after many trials with both fresh and canned pumpkin. But when it comes down to it, I found that using fresh purée is overly laborious for its results--it's watery, and just doesn't taste as good! Even
Martha Stewart says so. If you do insist on using fresh ingredients, though, I would opt for delicata or butternut squash over a pie pumpkin. The squashes have a more delicate flavor (hence the name),and are less watery, and stringy.
In the realm of the canned pumpkin, I DO have a definite favorite. One-Pie. Okay, so maybe it's only for the label and the fact that it's made in Maine. But seriously, it's real cute. And the recipe on the back isn't too bad either:
ONE-PIE NEW ENGLAND PUMPKIN PIE
Ingredients:
1 can ONE-PIE Pumpkin
1 tbsp. Cornstarch
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ginger
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tbsp. Butter (Melted)
1 1/2 cups Milk or 1-12 oz. can Evaporated Milk
1 cup Sugar
1/8 cup Molasses
2 Eggs (beaten)
+ Nothing-in-the-House Crust (recipe at right)
Directions:
Sift sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, & nutmeg together. Mix this with contents of one can ONE-PIE Pumpkin. Add eggs, beaten, melted butter, molasses, & milk. Add a dash of lemon juice (if desired). Line a 9-inch pie plate with crust, pour in contents. Preheat oven & bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Then reduce temp. to 350 & continue to bake for 50 minutes.This isn't necessarily my go-to pumpkin pie recipe, but I do like it for the molasses and the ginger.
ONE-PIE!