Oh, the joys of fall!

Fall is my favorite season (sadly followed by my least favorite) and although it might be a little cliche, pumpkin everything makes me indescribably happy! So, today I embarked on a journey to make a truly homemade pumpkin pie, because in my opinion if you are capable of baking at all, at some point this should be on your to-do list!

I roughly followed this recipe from All Recipes, with some additions of course, because that's half the fun of making something from scratch.

Start with a pie pumpkin! (also known as a sugar pumpkin) They are smaller sweeter versions of your typical Jack-O-Lantern style pumpkin. Cut it in half with a serrated knife, and scoop out the seeds (which you can save for roasting.)

Bake the pumpkins face down on a baking sheet with about 1/8 c water at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until they are soft. Scoop out the insides and puree them.

Now on to the crust! Mix together:

1-1/3 C flour

1/2 tsp Salt

Cut in 1/2 C shortening

Add up to 1/4 C water 1 T at a time until dough sticks together.

Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Roll onto rolling pin and out over pie pan. 

For the pie, mix together: 

1-1/2 C Pumpkin puree (my whole pumpkin) 

2 eggs 

3/4 can evaporated milk

1/3 C brown sugar

cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, gloves, allspice to your liking

Mix well, add to crust and bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees, reduce to 350 and bake 20-30 more minutes.

Chill and enjoy thoroughly with whipped cream!!