Sunday, November 28, 2010

The Pumpkin Pie Challenge

Ah, Thanksgiving. I don't cook for Thanksgiving anymore. I just don't want to. The crowds at the market starting a week before, the hoards of teenagers on break from school running amok, the television bombarded with Thanksgiving foods and customs. It just makes me annoyed at everything. 

Last year, Katie bragged about her pumpkin pie. Everybody supposedly loved it, so she made 2 for a dinner party. Neither was fully cooked, despite being in the oven for over an hour and a half. 

What happened?! She swore it was an anomaly. This never happened before! Her mother's crust recipe, the filling recipe from the back of the Libby's can of pumpkin puree...there was no going wrong here! This was the chip she carried for the last 12 months. This year, she tried again. We attended a potluck and pumpkin pie was her charge. It was to be Katie's comeback pie...The Pumpkin Pie of Redemption.

Fail. It just didn't cook right. Crust was tasty once you got past the pumpkin slime. We just didn't understand. A week later, Redemption Pie Take 2. Fail. Again. Was it the oven? Was it the tin? 

Katie's now convinced I don't believe she can make a good pumpkin pie. And she's right. She knows I didn't sabotage her (as if I'd do such a thing!) because I was not present at the last attempt. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I saw a pumpkin pie challenge!! I said I'd make the next pie. With the same ingredients, same tin, same oven. 

I used a simple 3-2-1 pie dough recipe ratio with the fat comprised of equal parts butter and shortening.
6 oz flour. 2 oz butter, 2 oz shortening, 2 oz ice water, half a teaspoon salt


Pumpkin pie filling mixed per Libby's Classic Pumpkin Pie recipe plus a dash of nutmeg, poured right up to the edge.


It baked for 15 minutes at 425 F, then turned it down to 350 F and let it cook for another 45 minutes.


It's done! It's gorgeous!


Served a la mode...as all pies should be. So it came out well. But, what about Katie's pies? Same ingredients, same tin, same oven. What is happening to her pies?? We may never know. Until then, there's my pie. ADVENTURE!!!

3 comments:

  1. Pie is a tricky bitch. Don't feel bad, Katie.

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  2. bah...CA pumpkin pie making is cursed.

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  3. can you give me some baking lessons? that pie looks soooo gooood!

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