It’s no secret that everyone’s favorite part of the meal is dessert. And Thanksgiving is the perfect example of that. I mean come on, apple pie, cheesecake and sweet potato pie? Who can resist it? One of our personal favorite Thanksgiving desserts is spiced pumpkin pie! When topped with some whipped cream, it’s the perfect way to end your Thanksgiving. Which is why we decided to go on the hunt for the best spiced pumpkin pie recipe.
See also: 7 Best Pies with Chocolate That Taste Amazing
Spiced Pumpkin Pie
This particular spiced pumpkin pie recipe uses whole spices such as clove, cinnamon, and black peppercorns which gives it a certain kick. You can become an expert baker and a fan-favorite at this year’s Thanksgiving if you bring this one to the table. As noted by the chef, Melissa Clark, try and use European-style butter for the crust as it really makes a difference in the end results.
The ingredients list is somewhat expected. Broken into two different lists (the crust and the filling), for the crust you will need:
- 1 ¼ cups/160 grams all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, as needed
And for the filling, the ingredients you will need are:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 petals from a star-anise pod (not the whole pod)
- 1 whole clove
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon cardamom pods
- 1 ¾ cups pumpkin or butternut squash purée (homemade or from a 15-ounce can)
- ¾ cup/165 grams dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons dark rum
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
The prep work and steps needed to create this delicious dish are somewhat simple. However, you have to make sure you leave enough time to cool the pie completely and to allow the feeling to steep. A note from the chef says that you can make the filling and par-bake the crust the day before, however, this dish is most delicious when baked and served on the same day. As a result of these requirements, the prep work for this recipe comes out to be about 3 hours (plus the chilling). But what else did you expect to be doing on Thanksgiving besides cooking and baking?
Your steps are:
- Make the crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Using your fingers, rub in the butter until it is the size of peas. Drizzle in water until the dough comes together when squeezed.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Working a palm-size chunk at a time, use the heel of your hand to smear the dough across the work surface. Continue until all the dough has been smeared, then gather it all together, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate; fold the edges over and crimp. Prick crust all over with a fork and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line chilled crust with foil and pie weights, then bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake until pale golden, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack to cool. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.
- Make the filling: In a medium pot, combine the cream, cinnamon stick, star anise petals, clove, fresh ginger, cardamom, and peppercorns, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.
- Whisk in pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, yolks, rum, ground ginger, salt, and nutmeg. Pour into the par-baked shell, transfer to a baking sheet, and bake until the crust is golden and center is slightly jiggly, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool completely before serving.
You can see this recipe in action. Check out this video from chef Melissa Clark below in which she explains the ingredients and preps the recipe for us!
Anyone can learn to bake. Especially during times like these. Surprise your family at the next thanksgiving with this spiced pumpkin pie and start a family favorite recipe!
