Whether you’re having friends or family over, throwing a Halloween party, or, in my case, getting some Halloween baking done, it’s ideal to have pumpkin pie around. It’s a kind of custom and tradition, even for someone like me who doesn’t even celebrate Halloween.

Typically, I’m one of those people who believe pumpkin shouldn’t even be considered a ingredient. How could the same thing you carve in a ridiculous way for fun end up on your plate? Naturally, I just flavor all my fall baking with pumpkin spice to give it that aroma and pumpkin flavor. But when it comes to pumpkin pie, you just have to go for it.

A few things to note:

• Like I mentioned in my previous post, always use homemade pumpkin spice rather than overpriced seasoning bottles. Pumpkin spice can easily be made with a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, ground cloves, allspice, and ginger powder.
• As for that hidden box of pie crust in your cabinet: pick that up and throw it away because there is a much simpler way to make your own homemade, flaky pie crust with just two primary ingredients: butter and flour.
• When I say homemade, I don’t mean homemade homemade, because the recipe calls for a can of pumpkin puree. This is probably the only time you won’t hear me lecturing you about make an ingredient from scratch. Buying pumpkin puree is much simpler, but for you DIY people out there, making pumpkin puree takes just a few extra steps. Simply cut a sugar pumpkin in half, spoon out all the guts and seeds from both sides, and place the pumpkin face down on a cookie tray. Bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes. After roasting the pumpkin, use a spoon to scrape out all the gooey mush from inside both pumpkin halves, puree in a food processor for 3 minutes, and enjoy.

Whenever you’re making pumpkin pie, get started on the recipe at least two hours before you plan to serve. Chilling the crust and baking takes a long while.

Pie Crust:

• 1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter cut and chilled into cubes
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons very cold water

1. Make sure your water is very cold and you have your butter cut into cubes and chilled before hand. Cold butter and water is what makes the dough flaky when baked. In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar.
2. Add chilled butter cubes and pulse until your dough forms into little pea-sized clumps
3. Continue pulsing your dough while gradually adding the water 1 tablespoon at a time. Your flour mix shouldn’t come together as one big dough ball, but in dough clumps — that’s fine. Place dough clumps on a floured surface, use your hands to press the dough together into a ball, and flatten into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight before using.

Pumpkin Pie:

• 1 recipe perfect pie crust
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice (homemade recommended)
• Flour for dusting

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Toss all ingredients — except pie crust — in a mixing bowl, and whisk together until you have a smooth, orange pumpkin pie filling
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out chilled pie crust dough until it’s 1/8 inch thick. Roll up dough on rolling pin, and gently unfold crust onto a 9 by 9 inch pie pan. Using kitchen shears, cut off any excess dough hanging out of the pan.
4. Pour the pie filling into the pan with the prepared crust, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool, serve with whip cream, and enjoy.