Classic Pumpkin Pie

All hail the North American fall classic, the sweet squash sensation, the origin of Starbuck’s fall drink line up and the simplest of Thanksgiving desserts: PUMPKIN PIE. How could we not include our own take on this incredible contribution to the American Culinary Tradition? Pumpkin pie is undoubtedly the sweetheart of the US and Canadian (I’m assuming) fall dessert table, maybe tied with apple pie of course. But it’ll certainly be the star of the show this Thursday when (for all of our non-US-or-Canadian followers) we’ll be tucking in for a massive feast of turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, dozens of other side dishes, and about 8 different pies (two of which will be pumpkin). Our family (as you may have guessed) is big on desserts and big on baking, so pies play a central role in family gatherings. Usually the process involves congregating at either our family home or Grandma’s house the day before the holiday (Wednesday, in this case), donning well-worn aprons, and setting to work rolling out pie crust after pie crust and mixing up filling after filling until the entire house is sufficiently preheated to 350° and the countertops are stickier than the current situation in the white house. This prep has to take place the day before Thanksgiving in particular because the day of, the oven will be otherwise occupied browning a very large and very basted bird for the celebratory over-indulgent “dinner” at 2pm.

All this to say, pumpkin pie is amazing. Pumpkin, as a vegetable, is native to North America, and while it’s uses and nutritional value was recognized centuries prior to pie by the actual Native Americans, the spiced, custardy, crust-held version that we know and love today didn’t come about until the latter half of the 1700s or even the 19th century when it started popping up in cookbooks or recipes. It may have originated with a kind of pie soup that European settlers in New England made by baking entire sugar pumpkins filled with other things – and as we all can agree, this is NOT a pie. In any case, thank goodness the recipe was finally developed and we can all have a slice, or four, of one of these burnt ochre bombshells this week.

Funny thing about pumpkin pie is that, like jars of Peanut Butter, cans of plain, stewed, pumpkin for baking are a bit tricky to find in grocery stores outside of the US or Canada. As an unfortunate example of this omission on international shelves, we give you this anecdote: when our dad was backpacking around Europe in his early 20s, keeping his travels going by picking up odd jobs like building local farmhouses or fences, he happened upon a lovely family in southern Sweden who invited him to stay for some months and practice his Swedish and work locally. Wanting to repay their hospitality, our dad thought baking them something ‘American’ was a great idea, and set to work collecting ingredients for a pumpkin pie. The trouble was, there is NO canned pumpkin in Sweden and there weren’t any pumpkins growing or being sold around town. To be accurate, there was no plain stewed canned pumpkin. There was, however, pickled pumpkin, which our dad worriedly had to use in place of the more appropriate plain version, along with a few other substitutions due to grocery store differences (bananas and something like molasses were also used…). Needless to say, pickled anything in a sweet pie is generally going to produce a surprising result, and this pumpkin pie was certainly a bit different than what we’ll all be eating this week. The attempt to recreate a dearly-beloved classic meant more to the host family though than perhaps the taste of the banana-molasses-pickled-pumpkin pie did, and thanks to the endless politeness of the Swedes, the evening was a success. As a happy ending, despite the questionable culinary production, the Swedes are still life-long family friends and I (Amelia) visited them three years ago and had wonderful Swedish food, and our dad just visited them again this summer on a trip to Sweden nearly 40 years after first meeting them. Food builds friendships, even if the food is horrible. Do what tastes good!

In memory of Åke, and to Eva and the whole Myhrberg family, this one’s for you!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free Classic Pumpkin Pie

A true American classic, perfect for the holidays

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: easy, pie, pumpkin, thanksgiving

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 300kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• One deep dish pie pan
• Rolling Pin
• Plastic wrap
• Pie crust shield or aluminum foil

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 Cup plus 2 Tbsp gluten free flour 1-1 mix with xanthan gum already in it
• 2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp extra xanthan gum
• 1/2 Cup cold butter cubed
• 1/2 large egg whisk one egg in a small bowl and use 1/2 of the whisked egg (or 2 Tbsp egg replacer)
• 1/2 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
• 2-3 Tbsp ice water (without the ice)

For pie filling:

• 2 large eggs
• 2 Cups canned pumpkin
• 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 1/2 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

• First, make the crust! This will need to chill so make it with plenty of time ahead. First, whisk the flours, salt, sugar, and xanthan gum together in a large metal bowl, then chill the flour in the fridge for 15 minutes. Then remove the bowl, take the butter out of the fridge (it should be very cold, but not frozen) and slice into 1/2 inch cubes. toss the butter cubes in the flour to coat. Knead the butter into the flour until it's crumbly. Whisk the 1/2 of an egg, vinegar, and 2-3 Tbsp of ice water together then pour in the knead into the dough until fully combined. Press crust into a ball, flatten into a disk, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Unwrap the chilled crust dough and set it between two large pieces of waxed paper, or lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and lightly flour the top of the dough ball. Flatten the dough ball between the paper with your hands and then use a rolling pin or something similar to roll out the crust to a circle of 1/4 inch thickness. peel off the top layer of the parchment paper, and flip the crust into the greased pie plate. Carefully peel off the remaining parchment paper and press the crust into the pan and crimp the edges.Then, refrigerate the prepared crust, covered in plastic, for 30 minutes before baking (the butter+crust must be cold before putting it into the oven).
• While the crust is chilling, make the pie filling! Preheat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine all of the pie filling ingredients (the pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and spices). Whisk together until smooth and combined.
• Pour the pie filling into the unbaked pie crust and wrap the edge of the crust carefully loosely in aluminum foil or a silicon pie crust shield and bake at 425° Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350° Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes, removing the pie crust shield 15-20 minutes before the pie is done to brown the edges. Bake until a butter knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Let cool slightly or completely until serving (best with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or lightly-sweetened whipped cream!).

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your pie!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber