Recipe Monday 2 -- Pumpkin Pie!

How many slices of pie does it take before you deem a pie safe for others to consume? Ummmmm..... that would be THREE slices for me, and I declare this pie now safe for human consumption!  LOL And, I prefer my pumpkin pie chilled. The flavors just seem to meld better.

I couldn't wait until next Monday to share this recipe. Besides, I had all that beautiful pumpkin puree just waiting to get invited to the dance.

You will need a scale to weigh out your pumpkin puree. I always weigh out my ingredients and forgot this time to put it into a measuring cup for the exchange. I will say that it took a big chunk out of my Ball jar that is a pint and a half.

I love cooking and baking and strive to eat as healthy as possible. Eliminating added sugar is my other goal so if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you have noticed that I use alternate forms of sugar such as Whey Low sugar or Xyla all natural sweetener which is low carb, low calorie, and diabetic friendly. You can always substitute real sugar in any of my recipes. I try to always mention what I used for a particular recipe. For this recipe I used Xyla (note to never allow any of your furry animals access to this sweetener. It is toxic to them.), and it is not a super sweet pie which works for me because my tongue is much more sensitive to sweet now.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 - 9 inch unbaked deep dish pie crust
• 3/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute (I used Xyla)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used slightly more...love cinnamon!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I used slightly more)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 2 eggs
• 15 ounces of pure pumpkin puree
• 1 - 12 oz can evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Prepare pie crust.
3. Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in separate bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar and spice mixture. Slowly stir in evaporated milk.
4. Bake for 15 minutes.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 60 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.**
6. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours or overnight if made in the evening. Refrigerate.

Enjoy!

** Note. I needed to bake my pie for approximately 75 minutes which is a long time. I think the fresh puree set up slower. I just kept checking it every 10 minutes until the center had set. Next time, I will cover the edges of the pie crust so that it doesn't get as brown. It didn't burn but is browner than I like.

Bon Appetit!