Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t be complete without a couple of Granny’s Pumpkin Pies. She serves them with a dollop of whipped cream but I prefer mine without it. My favorite leftover snack from the big dinner is a piece of pumpkin pie, a slice of turkey, and a roll.
Granny hand wrote the recipe for me after I was married. I have it pasted into one of my cookbooks. I’ve added some information to it but I can’t remember if Granny told me to or if it was something I came up with on my own.
This recipe makes 2 pies but you can easily half the ingredients if you only need 1 pie.
- 4 cups of pumpkin (Granny and I use pumpkin from the freezer that we put up earlier in the year, but you can buy canned pumpkin and use that)
- 4 eggs beaten
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large cans of cream (evaporated milk)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 2 pie shells
Using a whisk combine all ingredients and mix well.
Pour pumpkin mixture into pie shells. The mixture is very runny-I always set my pie plate on a baking sheet before pouring the pumpkin mixture in-that way if I spill some on the way to the oven I don’t make a huge mess nor does the pie make a huge mess in the oven if it bubbles over.
Place pie in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes to an hour until pie is firm and set in the middle.
Granny’s recipe hands down makes the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever eaten. The pie has an earthy richness to it that other pumpkin pie recipes I’ve tried seem to be lacking.
Are you a pumpkin pie fan?
Tipper
Re: Your late Thanksgiving Day snack. My sister married a man from Towson, Maryland, who I had known for years before that. His mother’s second husband was a prince of a man who grew up in Baltimore City. His late Thanksgiving Day snack was a sandwich or two on white bread. Mayo was spread on the bottom slice, then sliced white meat turkey, a slice of bread dressing, a slice of jellied cranberry sauce and the top slice of bread. That makes a really fine sandwich.
Now where, pray tell, could I ever find a candy roaster in Maryland? But I sure would like to! WNC IS THE ONLY PLACE ON EARTH, I’M THINKING!
I like a little nutmeg and a tablespoon of rum in it, too. Mrs. Wanda buries her slice under a mountain of whipped cream, but I find whipped cream just clouds the issue.
Its my Momma’s job to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Her and Daddy grow candy roasters and she makes her pies from them. They always turn out so good. 🙂
My Grandmother, then my Mother made ‘pumpkin’ pie from Mother Hubbard squash rather than pumpkin. The cooked squash never browned and the pie had a custard-like form. My Mother made a pie for each person, including the Grandchildren.
b.Ruth – scales are for fishes. If you have scales, you need to check into Jergens, otherwise forget about it ’til way passed groundhogs day.
Tipper,
I think Grannys recipe for Pumpkin pie is the most traditional recipe…What we remember from the good old days at our grandmothers dinners…
I make a pumpkin pie that isn’t baked..has a graham crust, pumpkin cream cheese and cool whip mixed with spices, etc..
It is more like a pumpkin cheese cake I suppose only not baked…
My family likes both!
Since evaporated milk is milk that the water has been taken from in a certain percent it makes it taste and feel a lot richer consistency without adding cream, sugar, etc.
Now then, with eggnog as a substitute for the liquid (evaporated milk) the eggs are the main ingredient in eggnog, along with sugar and pure rich cream and sometimes whole milk..of course spices..
I would think that would double the flavor and richness of the traditional pumpkin pie, which already has sugar, egg, pumkin and spices…
I am just thinking…what do you think?
Thanks Tipper,
PS…Think I’ll set my scales back 18 lbs…LOL
Tipper,
I love Pumpkin Pie at Thanksgiving
and Christmas, but I take the easy
route and buy Mrs. Smith’s Hearty
Style and bake it.
When I was a boy in the late 50’s,
we could buy Carnation Cream, but
sometime later they changed the
name to Evaporated Milk, probably
just watered it down.
Happy Thanksgiving to all…Ken
Tipper (and Tamela)–Ann’s recipe does use eggs. The eggnog is just the liquid in place of evaporated milk.
Jim Casada
Tipper, and Granny,
Thanks for the pie receipt…LOL
Love that old way of writing recipe! I have some old Aunt Lydias’ Receipt brochures…Love it!
WARNING:
BE SURE AND SET YOUR SCALES BACK 10 LBS WEDNESDAY NIGHT!
I forgot last year and what a shocker!
That for shore goes if your eatin’ eggnog pumkin pie! yummmm!
might ought to up it a notch, say 15 lbs!
One could use, those no-fat eggbeaters, splenda and skim milk…just spray the pie pan with pam, pretend there is crust and go for it…Ewwwww!
But then, why go to the bother of making a pie at all…LOL
Double the pleasure, double the fun, double the lbs! LOL
I also think fresh pumpkin always tastes better in the old pie shell! However, seems that I am over pumpkin after Halloween until pies at Thanksgiving..
unless of course, I have cooked the pumkin face and stashed it in the freezer! LOL
Well folks, if the rumor is true, we will be “bringing in the sheves” tomorrow, so we will be as close to the wool warmth as we can get…Mercy, hope we don’t have a blizzard this early! It’s so cold!
Thanks Tipper,
PS….Don’t forget those scales!
Now I must get to the store to get the final ingredients for this pie. I have only made three pumpkin pies from fresh pumpkin. It was a wonderful eating experience, one to be tried again – next year. I will have to substitute canned pumpkin for this year’s treat. Yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
Tamela-yes canned cream is evaporate milk : ) and I would think the large cans are about 16 oz.
Blind Pig The Acorn
Celebrating and Preserving the
Culture of Appalachia
http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com
Back to the pumpkin pie: I’ve never seen canned cream – is that about 16 oz? We use evaporated milk or sometimes cream; however, I think we’ll have to try using eggnog!
Does Jim’s Anne still put in more eggs too? What about spices? – or is her recipe just pumpkin and egg nog? Sounds like a possibility. . . .
We also go a little easier on the cloves (just a touch) and add about a 1/2 tsp of nutmeg.
Very similar to my recipe, Tipper. The only difference is that I use 2% milk instead of the evaporated kind and I like the pie better–and it lowers the calories too 🙂
Pumpkin Pie, leftover turkey, and rolls – I think I look forward to the leftovers more than the meal – perhaps because they are eaten in a more relaxed setting and I haven’t been cooking since 4 in the morning.
Although we’ve eased up a bit and now have Thanksgiving dinner around 1, our Thanksgiving meal is always at noon; so, that means early risin’ to get everything timed through the oven and the stove and ready to eat, even after spending much of the previous day in preparation.
The preparation used to be half the fun with everyone working together in the kitchen; but with kids living further away and their jobs keeping them until at least noon on Wednesday, they don’t make it in until very late Wednesday or often not until just before its time to eat.
They usually bring a dish with them but that’s a whole new challenge – timing for keeping their dishes warm and as close to peak as possible. Even so – it’s still wonderful to have everyone and their guests together.
And just about everyone closes the meal with a sliver of pumpkin and a sliver of pecan pie – can’t fit much more in those satisfyingly full stomachs.
Tipper–Momma made what she called pumpkin chiffon pies, although sometimes she used candy roasters rather than pumpkin. Either way, they were mighty fine. I have the recipe in my November newsletter.
As a boy I actually liked working up the pumpkins, although in today’s world I would consider it a flat-out chore. We never used the seeds, other than to save some for the next year’s crop, but maybe we should have tried. I like the store bought pumpkin sees.
Ann has already made our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, and hers is an especially rich one thanks to the fact that she uses eggnog rather than evaporated milk.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the Brasstown bunch.
Jim Casada
http://www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com
Sounds delicious. So good after the dinner’s over and things calmed down to sit down with a slice & a cup of coffee.
This sounds like an excellent recipe, I’m going to have to try it! Thanks:)
Not a big pumpkin pie fan, but this one looks pretty good.
Happy Thanksgiving to Tipper and family and the Blind Pig and all of the Acorns! We were supposed to leave tomorrow for the Orlando area to spend Thanksgiving with our nephew and family, but with freezing rain/sleet forecast to start at 9 PM today, we are going to get into South Carolina today. Our prayers are for safe travels for those who have travel plans this week. Looks like it could get a bit messy.
Tipper: That Ms. Ethelene’s post makes me want to get back in the kitchen and try my hand at making pumpkin, chocolate and butterscotch pies. BUT we would only eat them!
I hope the snows go North this weekend. Otherwise we will not be able to drive over the mountains!
Eva Nell
That pie looks soooo good. I’ve made a few pumpkin pies in my time but never found a recipe that I thought was good enough to make more than once. I even found one recipe that has evaporated milk. I thought anything with evaporated milk had to be wonderful but not so with pumpkin pie. I’m gonna give Granny’s recipe a try.
Congratulations to Patsy!
I have started using fresh pumpkin in the last few years, I swear it tastes better.
Sounds delicious! Saving this one.
Granny’a Pumpkin Pie Recipe is very similar to one passed down in our family–originating with Aunt Ethel Collins (for whom I was named). She was a great cook (like your Granny) and many of her recipes still are used at special days throughout the year. The same is true of my Aunt Northa’s recipes–especially her chocolate pie; and Aunt Pauline–her butterscotch pie. Have Happy Eating this Thanksgiving!
I have never been a pumpkin eater. Nor cooked carrots nor yams nor mangos nor papayas nor butternut squash. Maybe its the color. Makes me think of changing diapers.