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You are here: Home / holidays / Tutorial: Anna Olson’s Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Tutorial: Anna Olson’s Homemade Pumpkin Pie

November 26, 2009 by Suzie the Foodie 13 Comments

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

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Normally, I hate pumpkin pie. For most of my life I could not understand why people loved this “weird” baking concoction. Then one day a neighbour came by, she had grown a pumpkin in her backyard and gave it to me. Wow! OK, Halloween was too far off to use it as a jack-o-lantern and I had never baked a pumpkin pie before and Thanksgiving was around the corner…So, I taught myself how to make a homemade pumpkin pie from scratch. Whose recipe did I turn to? Anna Olson, the baking Goddess of course!

As I took a bite from this pumpkin pie, my internal oven light turned on. Heavenly, spicy, complex yet light and mousse-y pie filling cradled in a sturdy yet flaky pie crust…this is what everyone is talking about! Click here for the recipe.

The beginning

Anna suggests doing the old freeze the butter and shortening then grate them into the flour trick. I grated the butter but cut in the shortening and used a pastry cutter to get the little pieces covered with flour.

Ready to put together

This is how I know I have added enough ice water. When I stir with a spoon I get these larger clumps and there is no longer any loose dry flour on the bottom. I bring it to a ball quickly in my hands and then cover with plastic wrap and flatten into a round disk, chilling it in the fridge for at least an hour.
Empty pie shell

On a floured cutting board I roll out the dough, turning as I go and flouring the pin and board if it starts to stick. I use a pair of kitchen scissors to cleanly cut all the way around the pie plate.

Pumpkin & SpicesAdding the eggs

To bring the filling together I use my mixer, you could just as easily do this by hand or by hand mixer if you prefer. This time I used canned pumpkin for the filling and it turned out great. Make sure not to use pumpkin pie filling, just canned pumpkin. You want to add lots of spices into the pie filling from your own pantry! Cinnamon, molasses, nutmeg, cloves…it tastes like gingerbread, just hold the ginger. Because I love depth of flavour, I did add 3 tbsp of brandy at the very end after all the whipping cream and eggs go in.

Raw pie ready for the oven

Before putting the filling in I fluted the edges as much as possible, you can not over-flute. The filling and pastry swell in the oven, leaving you with a pretty edge. Then add the filling and bake, I had to bake it in the oven for quite a while, at least 35 minutes. You want the middle to still be a little giggly but the edges need to be firm. I always worry it is not cooked inside so I prefer to take the risk of over-baking.

Cutting the details

Get Recipe!

I used the little leftover scraps to make details after the pie had cooled and chilled overnight. I baked them at 325F for 10 minutes but they still seemed kind of raw so I just kept baking until the bottoms browned a bit.

This is a make-ahead dessert but the payoff is huge! The pie souffles a little and there just seems to be more than enough pie for everyone. I strongly recommend making this pie a day ahead since you absolutely need to let it chill and set. My favourite part of this recipe other than the tasty results is that you do not need to blind bake the crust, this saves time in a big way. Far from the dry, pasty and weird cardboard box pumpkin pies you get at the grocery store, this pumpkin pie was moist and all-natural!

I love this recipe so much I seriously wonder if I will every try making another version of pumpkin pie? So full of flavour and depth yet light and airy, this pumpkin pie takes the cake!

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Filed Under: baking, holidays, pie, tutorial Tagged With: Anna Olson, holiday, holidays, pie, pumpkin, pumpkin pie, Suzie the Foodie, tutorial

Comments

  1. bushidoka says

    October 13, 2009 at 12:44 pm

    Canned pumpkin?!? I thought you said it was home made!

    Doing your own pumpkin is really easy. Here is a video I did.

    http://urbanhippy.ca/preparing/pie/pumpkin

    My wife prefers squash pie, though. Buttercup Squash, to be exact. Basically just use your pumpkin pie recipe with squash instead. We use the recipe from Joy of Cooking but leave out the cloves – works really well. I made 2 squash pies this weekend.

    Reply
  2. Suzie the Foodie says

    October 13, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with using canned pumpkin, it is still real. It is just cooked. I did not have time to roast my pumpkin all day like I did the day the lady came over with the pumpkin. I have never tried squash pie before, will have to give that a shot sometime soon too!

    Reply
  3. bushidoka says

    October 13, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    I know – just giving you a hard time 🙂

    I also canned up 8 jars of pumpkin over the weekend so now i can make pumpkin pie any time I want, with my own pumpkin.

    Reply
  4. Debra She Who Seeks says

    October 13, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    Ooooo, brandy in the pumpkin pie! That must add something extra to the flavour!

    Reply
  5. Chow and Chatter says

    October 13, 2009 at 1:39 pm

    oh wow great pumpkin pie and I love the maple leafs on the top Happy Thanksgiving lol

    Reply
  6. Jamie says

    October 13, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    Wow, that pumpkin pie looks so exquisite it might almost tempt me to try it! I love the little maple leafs! Suzie, you make food look so good! And I certainly know you make it taste good too.

    Reply
  7. Tori says

    October 13, 2009 at 2:56 pm

    Yum! Autumn is seriously the best time for cooking. I’m glad your pie turned out so well. Late Happy Thanksgiving to you!

    Reply
  8. Danielle says

    October 13, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    That is a really gorgeous pumpkin pie!! Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  9. aliceinparis says

    October 13, 2009 at 7:28 pm

    Looks fab! I like the idea of Brandy! I bet it worked well. love pumpkin pie.

    Reply
  10. Karen D says

    October 15, 2009 at 12:10 am

    I am definately going to try this one, my husband loves pumpkin pie. Thanks.

    Reply
  11. Bohemian Single Mom says

    October 16, 2009 at 3:26 am

    Oh wow Suzie – this looks like heaven. I love pumpkin pie and it’s the one thing I miss about my mom.
    I should try and make one – thanks for the tips.

    Reply
  12. Tracey says

    October 24, 2017 at 9:43 pm

    Oh my goodness! Those photos have my mouth watering!

    Reply
    • Suzie the Foodie says

      October 25, 2017 at 3:18 am

      You know what Tracey, it is even more delicious than it looks! I had no idea pumpkin pie could be this delicious. I am going to make it for Christmas this year, if I can wait that long!

      Reply

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