We’re going to detour quickly to dessert with this guest test.
Mystery Pecan Pie is a classic Thanksgiving recipe, and this week we’re going to see if Sarah’s Pumpkin Pie is a suitable accompaniment.
AuthorRetroRuth
From Newspaper Clipping
Tested Recipe!
[cooked-sharing]
Beat eggs well. Add ¾ cup sugar, salt and ½ stick melted butter.
Add spices and blend, then add mashed pumpkin and mix thoroughly.
Turn into pastry-lined 9-inch pie pan and pat mixture even with the edge of pastry.
Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup sugar over the top of pie and dribble remaining half stick butter over sugar.
Bake in 350 the oven for about 45 minutes.
Ingredients
Directions
Beat eggs well. Add ¾ cup sugar, salt and ½ stick melted butter.
Add spices and blend, then add mashed pumpkin and mix thoroughly.
Turn into pastry-lined 9-inch pie pan and pat mixture even with the edge of pastry.
Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup sugar over the top of pie and dribble remaining half stick butter over sugar.
Bake in 350 the oven for about 45 minutes.
Notes
Sarah has an unusual approach to pumpkin pie, that’s for sure.
There isn’t any evaporated milk, just straight butter.
The spices include a lot of nutmeg and allspice, but no ginger, cloves, or mace.
And then there’s the sugar-butter topping. I like butter, but half a stick is a lot of butter.
The butter didn’t sink in or anything, it just sat on the top bubbling for 45 minutes. I skimmed at least a tablespoon off before just giving up and covering it with whipped cream.
The unsuspecting taster said, “Mmm, pie!”
“It definitely is in a pie crust, yes.”
Buzz looked at me.
“Sorry, whoops, mmm pie! Eat up!”
“Oooh, that’s not a good face. What’s wrong with it?”
“This just doesn’t taste like pie at all. It’s more like persimmon pudding.”
Verdict: Barely pie.
From the tasting notes:
Overly sweet and needs whipped cream to help tone down the sugar. The texture is a little grainy and very mushy, not solid enough. Taste isn’t bad (if you like sugar) but isn’t really pie-like.
I’ve been told it’s hard to make a good pumpking pie from scratch without having it be too stringy or too mushy. Looks like Sarah’s was one of them… 🙁
The squash in the photos don’t appear to be pumpkins. PIE pumpkins, which are smaller than big jack o’ lanterns, are needed for fresh pumpkin. I find it works best to cook up the pumpkin in advance and drain before putting in pie. And then plan to cook 15 to 30 minutes more or even longer, if the pumpkin is really watery.
Recipe still sounds like something I would avoid.
I make about ten pumpkins’ worth of puree every fall (de-seed, quarter, and roast the pumpkin before putting it through a food processor) for various baked goods. While this pie pumpkin was on the small side, it was definitely a pumpkin. The consistency of the puree was fine.
My guess is that the HALF STICK OF BUTTER on top was what derailed this completely 🙂
I’ve actually made not-from-can pumpkin pies often in the last decade or so, and never had them fail in such a strange fashion as this. There was just something out of whack about it, particularly all the butter on top.