Walking further down memory lane, there was the horrendous pumpkin pie food poisoning episode my little sister and I suffered during one of our mid 1970's family Thanksgivings. We couldn't blame the turkey or the stuffing since everyone had consumed that and weren't afflicted. As I recall, my sis and I pretty much polished off the entire pumpkin pie between the two of us, and although we had never heard of anyone getting poisoned by an innocuous pumpkin pie, we placed the blame there, as if gluttonizing on eight pumpkin pie slices wasn't the cause of our gastrointestinal distress.
A much more pleasant memory I cherish is indulging in pumpkin pie, and several other kinds of pie, at my friend Cindy's home in Havre, Montana. For several Thanksgivings in a row, we made the trip over the river and through the woods and across the blustery Eastern Montana plain to spend the holiday with Cindy and her family. Cindy is a gregarious hostess, an accomplished cook, and pie-baker extraordinaire. Each of those Turkey Days we spent with her, she prepared at least a dozen pies, all from scratch, all of them scrumptious. I should have taken careful notes or at the very least picked Cindy's brain for pie tips and tricks; but in my stupor induced by sampling umpteen slices of her heavenly pies, I was worthless.
Another Thanksgiving is just around the corner and with 44 pies under my belt, I feel confident enough to tackle the pie that was my demise nearly three decades ago. That pie was a spectacular failure of epic proportions, so how befitting that I redeem myself with a recipe titled Spectacular Pumpkin Pie. It borders on the difficult with multiple ingredients and steps, but I've baby-stepped my way to nearly 50 pies. It's about time I ratchet up the difficulty level.
The crust recipe is Ken Haedrich's. He incorporates cake flour into his basic recipe which prevents the crust from shrinking and also ensures an extra tender and flaky texture. The filling, with its layer of crushed gingersnaps and a pecan streusel topping, is a jazzed up version of the pumpkin pie classic.
As I prepared this pie, flashbacks of my past pie debacles haunted me. I fretted that history would repeat itself. But as the pie baked and the heavenly aroma of cinnamon and ginger wafted through the house, my fears lessened. When the pie emerged from the oven, nearly picture perfect, I nearly cried. And after chilling the pie, carefully slicing it, and tentatively taking the first bite, my fears were totally assuaged. I did the happy dance in celebration!
Extra-Flaky Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
5 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/4 cup cold water
Combine the flours, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and toss with the flour. With the mixer on low speed, blend the butter into the flour until you have what looks like coarse, damp meal, with both large and small clumps. Add the shortening and repeat. turning the mixer on and off, add half of the water and mix briefly on low speed. Add the remaining water, mixing until the dough starts to form large clumps. If you're using a stand mixer, stop periodically to stir the mixture up from the bottom of the bowl. Do not overmix.
Test the dough by squeezing some of it between your fingers. Add water, a teaspoon at a time, if the dough seems dry and not packable. Using your hands, pack the dough in a ball. Knead once or twice, then flatten into 3/4-inch thick disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for an hour before rolling.
On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the dough into a 13-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert over a 9 1/2-inch pie pan, center, and peel off paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, sculpting the overhang into an upstanding ridge. Place in freezer for 15 minutes while preparing the filling. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Filling:
2 cups crushed gingersnaps
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Stir together crushed gingersnaps and next 3 filling ingredients. Press mixture on a bottom and 1/2-inch up sides of piecrust. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir together pumpkin and next 6 ingredients until well blended. Pour into prepared crust. Place pie on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Prepare pecan streusel while pie is baking.
Pecan Streusel:
3/4 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
Stir together all ingredients. Remove pie from oven after 30 minutes. Sprinkle streusel around edge of crust. Bake 40-45 minutes or until set, shielding edge with foil during last 25-30 minutes of baking, if necessary. Let cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Dollop each piece of pie with Ginger-Spice Topping and dust with ground cinnamon.
Ginger-Spice Topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
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