Spiced Pumpkin Pie with Flaky Pastry Crust

Written by Kari @ KariNewsom.com, Contributing Writer

Autumn is officially here! At least in Colorado! We are having beautiful and warm days (high 70’s to low 80’s), but the nights are cool and crisp! Leaves are turning bright yellow, orange and red – and the morning has brought a slight haze these past few days.

Typically I am more of a warm-weather person. I’m all about the sun, flip flops and being outside. That being said, I’m still a Colorado girl at heart. I like to get bundled up in chunky sweaters, wool socks and fur lined shoes. I like jumping in the Jeep with my husband and kids, all bundled up, to drive to the mountains to see the Aspen’s turning. And since we’re Colorado natives, no matter what the weather, you roll the windows down, crank the heat and put those hats on and enjoy the drive!

The other thing I like about autumn is that I start spending more time in the kitchen again, making delicious and yummy smelling foods! A few years ago I wanted to make a pumpkin pie – a pie that I’ve never liked. As in ever. I figured it was because store bought pumpkin pies were not close to one made from scratch, so I wanted to try making one COMPLETELY from scratch to see if I could like a real pumpkin pie!

I have to say, when I took the first bite of this from-scratch creation, I instantly became hooked. This is a tad more involved than other recipes – okay, a lot more involved, so make your special occasions more special by incorporating this into the menu. It is absolutely delicious! If you’re already a pumpkin pie lover – then you MUST try this and add it to your favorite’s list! It’s on ours, which is why we included it in my first cookbook – Real Food. Real Kitchen. So Good!

Spiced Pumpkin Pie with
Flaky Pastry Crust

Yield: 2-3 pies

What you need:

*for the flaky pastry crust

3 ¾ cups white spelt flour
1 tablespoon cane sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder, aluminum-free
1 ¾ cup cold real butter
2/3 cups ice cold filtered water
2 tablespoons full-fat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon white vinegar

*for the spiced pumpkin pie filling and topping
(this will fill at least 2 pie dishes, depending on the size you make – believe me you’ll be glad you have more than one)

TOPPING
1/2 cup (1 stick) real butter , at room temperature
1 cup spelt flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
FILLING
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon allspice
4 eggs, from pasture-raised chickens
2 egg yolks, from pasture-raised chickens
2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
29 ounces pure pumpkin, pureed
2 (12oz) cans evaporated milk

What You Do:

FOR THE FLAKY PASTRY CRUST:

In a VERY large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder and blend well.
With a pastry blender – or 2 butter knives, cut in the cold butter until you have chunks the size of peas.
In a measuring glass, mix cold water, yogurt and vinegar together. Add liquid, all at once, to the flour mixture.
Stir quickly to distribute the liquid BUT DO NOT over mix. The consistency of the dough at this point will be a tad crumbly.
Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight. When the dough is ready it will break and not stretch.
Divide into three portions and shape into discs. For the ones you won’t be using right now, wrap in wax paper and store in an freezer safe zip lock bag and place in the freezer for up to one month or in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you do freeze it, thaw it in the fridge overnight – do not leave it out on the counter to thaw out.
When ready to use, roll out to around 12″ diameter so it will fit right in a 9″ pie dish. Transfer dough to the pie dish and trim the edge so it’s hanging over the edge by 1/2″. Fold over the edge and shape as desired. With a fork, prick the bottom and sides of the crust and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
To “blind bake” the crust, place a piece of parchment paper in the pie dish, on top of the crust and fill with dry beans so it’s weighted down. Place pie crust on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 350F degrees. After 30 minutes, remove the parchment paper and beans and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and cool before placing any filling inside.

For Spiced Pumpkin Pie Filling and Topping:

Preheat oven to 425F degrees.
Combine all the TOPPING ingredients in a medium size bowl and set aside.
Combine all the FILLING ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Pour this mixture into the cooled down pie crusts.
Bake pies for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temp to 350F degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle the topping on both pies. Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. If you find the edges begin to burn while finishing the bake time, place foil over the edges to during those last 15 minutes of baking.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

White spelt flour: whole white wheat, whole wheat pastry, unbleached & unenriched white flour
Cane sugar: coconut sugar, palm sugar
Full-fat plain yogurt: full-fat sour cream, crème fraiche
Brown sugar: coconut sugar or cane sugar with 2 tablespoons of molasses added
Freshly grated ginger: use 1 teaspoon ground ginger if you can’t get fresh ginger

HEALTH MADE EASY:

if using canned pumpkin puree, choose organic | make your own puree using “pie pumpkins”, which is a pretty simple process | since it makes 3 pies, you can either bless someone else with one or freeze them for up to a couple months | the fresh ginger really makes a difference in the taste, I prefer fresh over ground