Description
This Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe offers a classic, spiced pumpkin pie with a flaky homemade crust and optional sugared cranberry garnish. Perfect for holiday celebrations, it balances warm spices and creamy pumpkin filling, baked to silky perfection and served with decorative pie crust leaves and sugared cranberries for a festive touch.
Ingredients
Scale
Sugared Cranberries
- 1 cup (100g) fresh cranberries (do not use frozen)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) water
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar, divided
Pie Crust
- Homemade Pie Dough (full recipe makes 2 crusts: 1 for bottom, 1 for leaf decor)
- Egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- One 15-ounce can (425g) pumpkin puree*
- 3 large eggs
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg*
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
Instructions
- Make Sugared Cranberries: Start by placing fresh cranberries in a large heatproof bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, simmer water with 3/4 cup sugar until dissolved. Cool 5 minutes, then pour syrup over cranberries, stir, cover, and sit for 15 minutes. Transfer cranberries with slotted spoon to parchment-lined baking sheet, dry 1 hour uncovered. Toss cranberries in remaining 1/2 cup sugar until well coated. Dry again uncovered at least 1 hour or refrigerate. Store up to 3 days refrigerated.
- Prepare Pie Crust: Follow homemade pie crust recipe or use your favorite store-bought dough. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll out chilled dough into a 12-inch circle and fit into a 9×2-inch deep dish pie pan, pressing and crimping the edges. Brush edges lightly with egg wash.
- Par-bake Pie Crust: Line crust with crumpled parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans evenly. Bake 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment, prick crust bottom with fork. Return to oven and bake 7-8 more minutes until the bottom just starts to brown.
- Make Pumpkin Pie Filling: In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin puree with eggs and brown sugar. Add cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, heavy cream, and milk. Whisk vigorously until combined and smooth.
- Fill & Bake Pie: Pour filling into warm crust, filling about 3/4 full. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 55-60 minutes. After 25 minutes, cover crust edges with foil or pie shield to prevent over-browning. Check doneness by 50 minutes; center should be mostly set but slightly wobbly.
- Cool & Decorate: Transfer pie to a wire rack and cool completely for at least 3 hours. Decorate with sugared cranberries and baked pie crust leaves if desired. Serve with whipped cream if preferred.
- Store Leftovers: Cover pie tightly and refrigerate up to 5 days. Sugared cranberries can be stored separately refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing: Pumpkin pie and pie dough freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before use. Sugared cranberries should be prepared the night before pie assembly. The pie filling can also be made ahead and refrigerated overnight to meld flavors.
- Special Tools: Glass mixing bowls, saucepan, baking sheet, silicone baking mat or parchment paper, rolling pin, 9-inch pie dish, pastry brush, pie weights, whisk, pie crust shield, cooling rack, and fall cookie cutters.
- Cranberries: Use fresh cranberries for best coating and appearance; frozen cranberries do not coat well with sugar syrup.
- Pumpkin: Prefer canned pumpkin (Libby’s recommended). If using fresh puree, blot to remove excess moisture; bake time may increase.
- Spices: Instead of individual spices, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice may be used alongside 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon for simpler seasoning.
- Pie Crust: Pre-baking the crust is essential to avoid sogginess. Graham cracker crust may be used but may yield messier slices. No pie weights needed for cookie crust.
- Pie Crust Leaves: Roll out leftover dough about 1/8 inch thick, cut with leaf cutters, brush with egg wash, add veins with a knife, bake at 350°F (177°C) for 10 minutes, cool before decorating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/10 of pie)
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 30g
- Sodium: 230mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 46g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 110mg
