Thanksgiving Fresh Pumpkin Pie Recipe

The smell of pumpkin pie all day on Thanksgiving is alone worth baking a fresh, from scratch- and I mean scraping out the pumpkins- pie.

This recipe is a combo of others I've used throughout the years, feel free to tweak to your liking.

I know people who happen to love the pumpkin pie filling out of the can, so I make one of those and one from scratch!

Crust

See Food Network Star Aaron Sanchez's "Best Ever Pie Crust" recipe. I substitute butter for the vegetable shortening because I do not eat hydrogenated oil.
Filling

2 small pie pumpkins
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs

To prepare the pumpkins, cut in half, scoop and discard seeds, place cut-side down on baking sheet and bake 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until fork tender.

Prepare one pie crust from recipe above and have chilling in the fridge while you prepare the pie filling (crust should chill at least one hour before rolling out). 

When pumpkins are baked and cooled, scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin and discard skins. 

Place pumpkin flesh into food processor and pulse until pureed to eliminate any stringy pieces. Add remaining ingredients to food-processor and blend well. 

Roll out crust into pie pan and fill with pumpkin filling (crimp edges of crust decoratively).

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour or more, until set and toothpick comes out clean. 

Have lots of freshly whipped cream to serve alongside.

If you want to use the whole pumpkin, check out this pumpkin seed recipe.