Pumpkin Pie, that wonderful seasonal dessert for holiday dinners, is not difficult to make. However, there are many little things that can go wrong. My recipe for Pumpkin Pie, while more elaborate than many, tries to remedy those possible errors, the worst of which is a soggy crust. Ugh! For history of Pumpkin Pie, click here.

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For the Crust

Cut the butter and the lard or vegetable shortening into tiny pieces and freeze the pieces until they are hard.  This will help to make the crust flaky.

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process it for 2 minutes. Add the frozen butter and lard to the processor.

Pulse several times until the mixture resembles very coarse crumbs. There still should be pieces of butter and shortening about the size of the smallest peas. Do not over mix or you will lose flakiness.

With the processor running, add the ice water a tablespoon at a time. Use only enough water to make the pastry begin to come together. You don’t want the pastry to wet.  Remove it from the processor onto a floured board. Knead the pastry a couple of times, then form it into a round disk.

Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it over night. Trust me—the pastry rolls out much easier if you do this.

Remove the dough and place it on a floured board for about 6 minutes before you try to roll it so that it doesn’t crack. Begin rolling the dough, always from the center outward. Keep shifting the dough and turning it over so that it doesn’t stick to the board. The dough should be rolled out about 2- inches larger than the size of your pie plate turned upside down to give enough extra pastry to create a fluted edge.

Lightly brush a 9-inch pie plate with a bit of flour. Dump out any excess flour. This will help to keep the pie from sticking to the plate when you serve it.

Roll the dough onto the rolling pin, then carefully unroll it centered onto your pie plate. Lifting the edges, gently ease it into the plate, without pushing down on the dough or stretching it.

Trim the edges so they are a little larger than an inch greater than the pie plate. Fold the excess edges down under. Make a fluted edge by holding your thumb inside the pie plate against the pastry and the dough between your thumb and forefinger on the outside.

Freeze the crust for about 20 minutes or so. This helps make the crust flakier.

Preheat the oven to 425° and place a baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Butter one side of a piece of aluminum foil, and gently press the buttered side against the bottom and the sides of the pie crust. Fill the foil with dried beans or pie weights, making certain the sides and bottom are weighted.

You may note in the photo above that I did not use enough beans, and I covered too much of the crimping, and therefore the crust shrank and contracted on the sides when baked. A 9-inch pie requires about 1 1/2 pounds of beans.  Be certain the sides are fully supported by the beans, but don’t cover the crimping. Blind or prebaking the crust is the best insurance against sogginess.

Place the crust on the baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes. The edges should   brown so that it will stay supported. The fact that my edges did not brown properly caused the sides to shrink and slightly collapse during the second baking.

Remove the pie crust from the oven, turn down the heat to 375°, and carefully remove the foil and the beans. Move the baking sheet down to the lower level of the oven. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork to get rid of any air bubbles.

Beat 1 egg with a tablespoon of heavy cream. Carefully brush the bottom and sides of the pan with the egg wash, which helps give it a more golden color. Return the crust to the oven and bake 10-15 minutes more until it’s lightly browned. Remove the crust, prick it again if there are any air bubbles, and let it cool while you make the filling. Turn down the oven temperature to 350°.

For the Filling

In a large saucepan, mix together the pumpkin purée, two sugars, the molasses, and all the spices. I like a quite spicy pumpkin pie. You may want to reduce the amount of spices to suit your taste.

In another saucepan, pour in the heavy cream and the milk. Heat the milk and cream over very low heat until quite warm.

Over medium-low heat whisk together the pumpkin mixture until you see a plop or two. Remove from the heat. Heating the filling ensures against cracking when the pie is baked. This is a good time to taste the pumpkin mixture to adjust the spices.

Beat the eggs until rather, but not too, frothy. Whisk in a small amount of the warm milk and cream into the beaten eggs to temper them. You don’t want to scramble them.

Then whisk in the remaining milk and cream. Finally whisk the egg mixture into the pumpkin mixture, being sure you scrape the sides so all is well incorporated.

Pour the filling into the pie crust, and smooth out the top. Gently tap the pie against your counter to help remove any bubbles. Bake the pumpkin pie on the baking sheet for about 45-50 minutes until the custard is set. It may still jiggle a bit in the middle. Turn off the oven and let the pie cool for 1⁄2 hour in the oven with the door ajar. This also prevents cracking.Then remove the pie to a rack to finish cooling completely.

The pie can remain, lightly covered with foil, in a cool room for about 24 hours. After that, it must be refrigerated to prevent spoilage. Serve the Pumpkin Pie plain or with whipped cream sprinkled with nutmeg.

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