It’s cold and dark outside, the leaves are turning gold, people are putting up decorations: Halloween is right around the corner. And with Halloween comes pumpkin pie.

Most people make the lazy decision of buying pre-made pie crust. How disgusting. Pie crust is actually one of the easiest pastry doughs to make. And for everyone wondering: yes, there needs to be that much butter in it! All that cold cubed butter cut into the flour is what gives the crust those nice, flaky buttery layers after the pie comes out the oven.

As for the filling, it’s pretty much everyday ingredients, aside from the pumpkin puree and/or pumpkin spice. If you don’t have light cream at hand, you can substitute it for half and half or regular milk. Though I recommend you use light cream or half and half, milk will give the filling a more watery consistency.

Be aware that this is a time-consumer. You have to chill the dough, let the pie bake for more than an hour, and let it cool down at least 20 minutes before you cut into it. If you have time on your hand, go for it.

With that being said, grab your pumpkin spice- not your latte but the actual spice!- preheat your oven and give this delicious pie a shot! I’m sure you’ll be surprised how easy and tasty it is!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups of All Purpose Flour

½ cup Cold Butter, cut into cubes                                                            

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp sugar

4 to 5 Tbsp of Ice Water

Splash of Vinegar

For the Filling:

1 15oz Can of Pumpkin Puree

1 cup Light Cream or half and half

2 Eggs

1/4 of a cup of Granulated Sugar

1/2 cup of Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice

1) In a food processor or stand mixer add the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse once to incorporate. 

2) Add the butter, pulse about 10 times or until the butter is about the size of peas and distributed evenly. If your using a mixer, let it run on a speed of 3-4 for five minutes to allow the butter to properly be incorporated into the flour. At this time, add a small splash of vinegar. It helps prevent your crust become tough.

3) While pulsing add 1 Tbsp of ice water until the dough comes together when pinched between fingers.

4) Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and quickly form into a disk.

5) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge for about half an hour before using.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and make the filling,

6) In a large bowl whisk together all the pumpkin filling ingredients until all combined. I recommend mixing wet ingredients first (pumpkin puree, cream, eggs) and then dry ingredients (sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin spice).

7) Spray a 9 by 9 inch pie pan. On a floured surface, roll out your pie crust until 1/8 inch thick, wrap around rolling pin, and uncover on top of pie dish, snip off any excess pie dough from the sides. Add filling to the pie crust and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

9) Remove from the oven, turn the oven down to 350, and place back in the oven for about 50 minutes.

10) Allow to cool to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes  and serve with whipped cream!