Homemade Pumpkin Pie From Scratch

I have used my own cooked pumpkin puree in pumpkin recipes for years and it gives it a wonderful fresh taste that is totally different than a pie made with canned pumpkin puree. Pumpkins come in all sorts of sizes and shapes as well as varieties. You can use pumpkins grown for carving for  your pumpkin pie, but it is better to use a pumpkin that is grown for eating. Pie pumpkins are smaller, sweeter, less grainy textured pumpkins than the usual jack-o-lantern types.

Pie pumpkins are small, usually only 6 inches in diameter. You can usually obtain about 2 or 3 cups or puree per pumpkin. The puree can be frozen so that you can use it later in the season.

Pie Recipe

Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap.Cut the pumpkin in half. A serrated knife and a sawing motion works best. Scrape the insides with a heavy ice cream scoop or large spoon.

Steam the pumpkin in a large pan with a steamer basket on the bottom.Cook until the pumpkin is soft. Let cool a bit so you don't get burned. Use a large broad spoon to lift and scoop the cooked pumpkin out of the skin. It should separate easily an in fairly large chucks, if the pumpkin is cooked enough.

Some pumpkins are more watery than others. If your pumpkin is watery, strain pureed pumpkin through a cloth for a few hours. If I use frozen pumpkin I do the same again as it thaws out.

Blend the cooked pumpkin in a blender to get a smooth puree. It is now ready to use in any recipe calling for pureed pumpkin.

Pumpkin Pie from Homemade Pumpkin Puree

INGREDIENTS

1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

2 eggs

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. (Do not freeze as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.)

Homemade Pumpkin Pie From Scratch

I have loved to cook all of my life and collected many recipes from all over the world as well as good old fashioned American recipes from my mother, aunts, cousins and other friends and relatives. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

To see more of my recipes please visit The Great Recipe Site at http://www.greatrecipesite.com

I also have a blog with apple recipes at http://apple-recipes.net

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How to Make a Homemade Chocolate Pie From Scratch in 5 Steps

Are you bored of the same black forest cakes on every occasion? It is time to extend your expertise to a wider delicacy range. The following recipe will teach you to prepare homemade chocolate pie in five simple steps starting from the scratch. So, forget the regular chocolate cakes, switch over to a delicious homemade chocolate pie, and surprise your family with your expertise.   

Before beginning with the preparation, you will need the following items for making a good tasting chocolate pie. You would require an oven for the purpose along with a ready-made pie shell, which are easily available in the markets. You would need approximately one cup of sugar and one fourth teaspoon of salt, two cups of milk along with three tablespoons of cocoa and flour, 3 slightly beaten egg yolks, two tablespoons of butter and one teaspoon of vanilla essence. You can replace the cocoa with chocolate; however, the quantity needs to be reduced as well. One and a half squares of chocolate used in baking would suffice the preparation mixture for the chocolate pie. You will also require a saucepan and a mixer for blending the ingredients.

Pie Recipe

1. Beginning with the oven, preset the temperature to 350 degrees. Your chocolate pie shell would require baking. Do the same as per the instructions that are mentioned on the package. Do not forget to poke holes in your piecrust and continue to bake until it develops a brown tinge. This may take as much as 20 minutes, the approximate time it would take to get your pie filling ready.  

2. While the crust is baking, you can set the rest of the ingredients for your homemade chocolate pie. Use a flour bowl for adding the cocoa or chocolate squares, flour, sugar, and salt. Stir this mixture until they are blend well with one another. With this prepared, beat your egg yolk well and add it to the first mixture of flour and cocoa. You can save the white of the eggs for preparing meringue.  

3. In a 4 quarts saucepan, add milk and the first mixture and continue to cook them at a medium heat. Make sure that you continue the cooking with constant and regular stirs in order to keep the mixture from sticking to the pan. Continue with this as long as the mixture begins to change its state, this will take approximately ten minutes. If lumps develop in the mixture, beat them out. When the mixture starts to bubble and thickens up, remove the saucepan from the stove.

4. Now is the time to add your vanilla extract and butter. Once these ingredients are added, place the mixture once again on heat and continue to stir until the butter in the mixture starts to melt. Your piecrust should be baked to the appropriate color by this time.

5. Your last step is to pour the mixture into the shell. If you are not interested in preparing meringue, you can simply go ahead, place your pie in the oven, and set it to 350 degrees. This should take another 15 minutes; once done, you can add toppings such as shaved chocolate or strawberries to your homemade chocolate pie.

How to Make a Homemade Chocolate Pie From Scratch in 5 Steps

Sometimes when you don't have the time to make a homemade chocolate pie from scratch, but you want that fresh and delicious handmade taste, simply buy pies online at: Homemade Chocolate Pie

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Pumpkin Pie From Scratch - The Secret to Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Once you have a tasted a pumpkin pie made, not from a can off the grocery shelf, but from an actual pumpkin, you will never want to go back to a canned, or worse yet, store-bought pumpkin pie again.

There are many different types of pumpkin, and the large round gourd that you carve your Halloween jack' o lantern from, is not the best variety to use for pumpkin pie. Instead, look for sweeter, smaller pie pumpkins to make a pumpkin pies that is well worth the extra time and trouble.

Pie Recipe

The first thing to do is to cook the pumpkin. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds, then place on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350* oven until soft. An alternate method is to wrap the squash in plastic wrap, or put it in a glass or ceramic bowl with a plate as a lid and microwave again until soft, usually about 15 minutes.

A third way is to boil the unpeeled chunks of pumpkin in a small amount of salted water until they are tender. By itself, pumpkin has a lot of water. What you want to happen, no matter which method you use, is to add as little extra water as possible, during the cooking process. Baking does this the best, but you do need to add additional liquid to puree the pumpkin.

After the pumpkin has cooked to a very soft texture, the skin should come off easily. Wait until the pumpkin is cool, then peel it away with a paring knife and, place the chunks of pumpkin in a blender or food processor about 1.5 cups at a time and puree until smooth. If there is liquid left after the pumpkin has cooked, you can use this to thin down the puree,

If you are making a pie, you can use some of the eggs and evaporated milk in the pie recipe to thin down the puree. Or you can use water, but use the least amount as possible so that you still have a good thick consistency.

This pumpkin puree can be used in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin. Taste to be sure there is enough salt in the pumpkin mixture, or add about ¼ teaspoon of extra salt to the recipe.

Use the puree in pumpkin roll, pumpkin quick bread, added to spice or ginger bread as part of the liquid or served with butter and brown sugar and cinnamon as a vegetable dish.

Extra puree may be frozen and used at a later time. Frozen in ice cube trays the pumpkin can be used to thicken spaghetti sauce or soups. It is high in vitamin A and adds a lot of nutritional value to whatever recipe you use it in.

You can use old Halloween pumpkins this way to help stretch your food budget and make your meals more nutritious. Whether you use the large Halloween carving pumpkins, or the little sweeter pie pumpkins, making your own pumpkin puree tastes better and will save you money.

Pumpkin Pie From Scratch - The Secret to Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Deborah Schultz is a mom of 11, grandmother of 14, and loves to plan and decorate for holidays especially on a budget. If you are looking for ways to cut back on spending and add more joy and meaning to your holidays, check out her website: http://www.homemadeforchristmas.com.

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