Today let’s be thankful for leftovers.
I made pumpkin pie this year! Until this week, the only thing I knew about pumpkin pie was that I liked to eat it.
Therefore, as a pumpkin pie newbie (and a girl without a lot of extra energy to spare right now), I decided to go with the tried and true recipe on the side of the can of Libby’s pumpkin puree.
And it looked simple enough. Pumpkin, sugar, spices, eggs… a can of evaporated milk?
While I’m sure I’ve eaten plenty of pumpkin pie made with evaporated milk (and I’m sure I wouldn’t turn a piece down if someone handed it to me either) I did want to find a substitute ingredient for that questionable can of evaporated milk since I was the one making it this time.
A little digging around the web and looking at lots of pumpkin pie recipes, I discovered Yes! You can definitely replace the evaporated milk for something that feels more like “real food” if you so desire.
Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie (without evaporated milk)
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 eggs, beaten
1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin
1 12 oz can of evaporated milk
1 c of heavy cream (or milk for fewer calories)
Preheat oven to 425, combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat eggs, stir in pumpkin and then sugar mixture. Gradually stir in milk and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes at 425, reduce temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 40 to 50 or until knife comes out clean. If your knife refuses to come out clean even after 55 minutes, call your grandmother to find out if this is normal. (And Grandma said yes, this is normal.)
If you get a can of Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin, it basically says the exact same thing on the label. Except for that last part about Granny.
I made two pies yesterday. One for my mom’s house, and one to leave here so leftovers were assured. One was made with heavy cream, one with 2% milk. Both pies tasted as good as any pumpkin pie I’ve ever had, I couldn’t even tell the difference between the two. Both pies have had MORE heavy whipping cream heaped on top… heavy cream whipped with a little sugar and vanilla of course.
So if you’ve never made a pumpkin pie before and you find yourself wondering if you can skip buying that can of milk when you’re looking at the directions on the side of the pumpkin can? Why yes, as a matter of fact as you can.
**Update Thanksgiving 2013
I modified this recipe to use 3 eggs and 3/4 c cream. I had no issue with getting the knife to come out clean after 50 minutes, it set up beautifully!
