Pumpkin Pie From Scratch

In the Fall, I decided to try my hand at processing an entire pumpkin. It was messy and definitely labor-intensive, but the results were fantastic. Everything I made had a much more pronounced pumpkin flavor, which was just delicious in all of its forms.

For this pie, I used a store-bought graham cracker crust, but once I can get my hands on some graham flour, and once it's pumpkin season again, I'm going to try making a totally from-scratch pie. Of course, I could make normal pie crust, but I like graham cracker crusts better for pumpkin pies.

I'm also going to process a GIANT pumpkin next Fall and just freeze whatever I don't use right away. I can't believe how hard it is to find even canned pumpkin now that it's the winter.

I used this website as a basic guide for the whole process. But I kind of tweaked things here and there.

Preparing, cooking and pureeing the pumpkin:

Make sure you pick out a "pie pumpkin", not a "Jack-o-lantern" one. I used an heirloom pumpkin, which I was able to find very easily at Wolff's Apple House, a local farmer's market near us.

Once I got home, I peeled and cut up the pumpkin. This was the hard way to do it. No matter how you cook it (in the microwave, on the stovetop or in the oven), it's much easier just to cut it into manageable pieces and scoop out the flesh once it's done cooking.

Before you put it in to bake though, you have to make sure to scoop out all the seeds and pulp, just like you do when you're carving a pumpkin. And keep the seeds! They can be seasoned, roasted and turned into a tasty snack.

Once you've cut up and cleaned the pumpkin, choose your cooking method. I put mine in the oven on a parchment paper-lined cooking sheet. I baked it at 350ºF for 90 minutes until the flesh was very soft.

Once it's done cooking, scoop out the flesh and put it in a sieve over a bowl. This will drain some of the excess liquid. If you find that your pumpkin is still very liquidy, you can let it sit in the sieve for 30 minutes. Or if you want to make absolutely sure you won't have a liquidy pie, and if you have the time, you can let the flesh sit in either cheese cloth or wrapped in paper towels in a sieve over a bowl in the refrigerator overnight.

Once the flesh is dry enough for you, you can use either a blender or an immersion blender to puree it. Now you're ready to make a pie!

Pumpkin Pie From Scratch



1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional, I don't use any)
4 large eggs
3 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cans (12oz each) evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

*Note: You may substitute cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and ginger with 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice.

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Mix together all ingredients. Pour mixture into pie crust. Bake at 425ºF for 15 minutes, turn oven down to 350ºF, and bake for another 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.