The Best Halloween Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Prep Time - 45 minutes
Cook Time - 2 hours
Resting Time - 2 hours
Servings 8 slices
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- Two sticks 1 cup butter, cold
- An egg yolk (reserve the egg white for the meringue ghosts)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp cold water
- 13 oz of canned pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 Tbsp flour
- a pinch ~1/16 tsp cinnamon
- a pinch ~1/16 tsp nutmeg
- a pinch ~1/16 tsp dry ginger
- pinch ~1/16 tsp ground cloves
- a pinch ~1/16 tsp allspice
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
- For the crust, mix flour and sugar and cold butter to make crumbs. I like to grate frozen butter when making both my pie crusts and scones.
- Add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of cold water. Assemble the dough into a ball. Next, put it in the refrigerator for an hour to chill.
- Mix pumpkin puree with eggs and sugar.
- Next, add sweetened condensed milk, flour and spices. Beat with a mixer.
- After an hour, remove dough from the refrigerator, and roll out the dough to a thickness of 3-4 mm.
- Place in pie dish. With this pie you see a more rustic pie crust look with the edges rough and uneven. I love the look of this for the Halloween feel. You could always do a more traditional style if you want a cleaner look.
- Add filling to pie crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes at a temperature of 400 F, then reduce the temperature to 350 F and bake for another 45-50 minutes. Check with 15 minutes remaining, and if the crust is getting too dark, cover the darkening bits with foil.
- Allow to cool completely by sticking the pumpkin pie in the refrigerator for two hours.
- For the meringue ghosts, preheat your oven to 200 F.
- Add egg whites (make sure there are no yolks), cream of tartar, vanilla and salt to a stand mixer, mixing until soft peaks form. Start slow and work up to high.
- Next, gradually add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix for 15 seconds in between before adding the next tablespoon of sugar. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat for an additional 5 minutes. The meringue mixture should be a glossy, smooth and fluffy consistency.
- Pipe these into “ghosts” by attaching a round tip to a pastry bag. With even pressure, pipe the ghosts out by squeezing and moving your hand slightly up and down. Pipe onto parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet.
- Bake for an hour. Then, turn off oven, keep door shut and keep meringue ghosts in the oven for another 1-2 hours. They should be dry and crisp.
- For the eyes, add chocolate bits, nuts, poppyseeds or edible eyes. A little caramel can help them stick. Cutting up some Rolos give you the eye and the caramel that helps attach them.