Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie



1 can (29 oz) 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cloves

4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups (24 oz) milk (or a combination of milk and heavy cream)

2 unbaked pie shells

Mix pumpkin puree, sugar, salt and spices together, then add beaten eggs. Slowly mix in milk until well combined. Pour into pie shells and bake at 425° F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F and bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.


*****
My dad is famous for making all the pies for Thanksgiving each year. I loved the yearly debate (that still takes place today) on how many pies we can all consume in one week. If it was my dad’s choice there would be enough pies for each of us to have a whole pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I loved watching him roll out the pie crust dough and mixing all of the fillings. This is the recipe he has used for years that everyone loves.

For the past several years I have skipped the Pumpkin Pie due to the evaporated milk that is always added. Finally I got brave and started looking for alternatives and it turns out plain milk or a combination of milk and cream work perfectly!

If you are making pies for a holiday and are short on time, you can premix a few of the ingredients ahead of time. I like to make pumpkin bread a week or two before Thanksgiving, then while my pumpkin and spices are out I measure out 29 oz. of pumpkin and mix it with the sugar, salt and spices. Then freeze until the day before I make the pies. Just thaw the mixture in the fridge for a day. With as much baking as there is for Thanksgiving, it’s nice to have a few shortcuts.

Recipe adapted from the original Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie.

2 comments:

Mindy said...

Jeff made a few of these for our Thanksgiving feast, and we got RAVE reviews! Nice to know we don't have to use evaporated milk if we don't have it around!

Melanie said...

Thank you for commenting on my blog - I'm glad to add yours to my google reader! I can already tell that you have wonderful recipes!