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Alton Brown's Pumpkin Pie
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Alton Brown's Pumpkin Pie

My favorite pumpkin pie recipe from Alton Brown with instructions written by me. I add more spices to my pumpkin pie that Alton doesn't - cinnamon and cloves. You could add ground ginger as well if you like but the crust packs a lot of ginger flavor itself.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 6 ounces gingersnap cookies
  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 ounce butter melted

Filling

  • 16 ounces fresh pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup half and half
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

To make the crust

  • Combine the gingersnaps, brown sugar, and ginger in your food processor and process until you have fine crumbs. Pulse a few times if you have chunks of gingersnaps still. 
  • Drizzle in the butter.
  • Pulse until combined
  • Take the mixture and press it into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. 
  • Pre-bake the crust in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

To make the filling

  • Add the pumpkin puree to a medium saucepan.
  • Bring to a simmer. Cook the pumpkin until slightly thicken. Should only take a couple minutes.
  • Add half and half, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, egg yolk, and brown sugar. Beat with a whisk until smooth.
  • Add the pumpkin puree from the saucepan to the mixing bowl. Whisk until completely combined.

Cooking the pie

  • Add the pumpkin filling to the pie crust, make sure to leave room at the top. You may have extra, I always do.
  • Bake in the oven until the center is slightly jiggly. This should take about 45 to 50 mintues. I would check on progress at the 30 minute mark. 
  • Allow to cool before serving. 2-3 hours is best to allow pie filling to properly set up.

Notes

Feel free to edit the amount of spices to your liking. The mix I included in this recipe is what our family likes. But if you don't want cloves, skip them. I always recommend to search out the best spices you can, it will make a huge difference.