Pumpkin Pie with a twist

Kalvin mentioned to me last night that it was the first thanksgiving in a long time that he didn't have any pumpkin pie. Thus I decided today was the day to try my hand at making pumpkin pie. I decided not to go with a full traditional recipe because there were such raving reviews for this recipe. This recipe use maple syrup, while it was weird, it really made it delicious.

 

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches) (I made my own, refer to the pie crust HERE.)
• Additional pie pastry, optional for decorations.
• Whipped cream, optional

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the first 10 ingredients until smooth; pour into pastry shell. Cover edges loosely with foil.
• Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 40-45 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove foil. Cool on a wire rack.
• If decorative cutouts are desired, roll additional pastry to 1/8-in. thickness; cut out with 1-in. to 1-1/2-in. leaf-shaped cookie cutters. With a sharp knife, score leaf veins on cutouts.
• Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Arrange around edge of pie. Garnish with whipped cream if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

Don't forget to poke the crust with a fork before pouring the pumpkin in to avoid bubbling. I forgot to do this, it worked out but would have been more even if I would have remembered.

Kalvin Shaping the crust. He is the only one that rolls and shapes the crust. He does such a good job I don't even bother to try!

A leaf decoration I cut out

This is what I got when I asked Kalvin to cut out some lovely leaf decorations. I got two stars and a tree........

The top was browner than I expected but it wasn't burnt. I think it had something to do with the maple syrup.

The decorations do look kind of funny.

This pie definitely was delicious enough to stand alone. It really didn't need any whipped cream or ice cream to go with it.