Pumpkin pie recipe sweetened condensed milk

Making pumpkin pie is a quintessential fall baking experience. This earthy, comforting, spice-infused pie is often thought of as the king of pumpkin culinary creations and is the perfect intersection of mellow pumpkin and rich custard, served in a flaky crust. A cozier late-autumn treat would be hard to imagine.

Today, its presence on fall dessert tables (notably on Thanksgiving) is practically a requirement. Learning how to make pumpkin pie will ensure that you enjoy this tradition, deliciously, for years to come.

One aspect of pie making — be it pumpkin, lemon meringue, or even apple — that can be especially daunting to bakers is making the perfect pie crust. While the ingredients are simple, every instruction seems to be specific and sometimes fussy, from how much (or little) ingredients should be handled to the temperature of the various components. In the Craftsy class instructor Evan Kleiman, the pie-oneer behind the famous “Pie a Day” project and host of KCRW’s popular radio program Good Food, breaks down the process in an easy-to-follow format that will educate you on the hows and whys, and then show you how to apply your new-found knowledge. Recipe notes to “crimp the edges” or “cut in the butter” will become common parlance in your pie-making process.

Making perfect pies is an art, both visually and technically. Knowing the how and why behind techniques will help you build a foundation in food and cooking, which will improve your overall kitchen skills.

A bit of history about pumpkin pie

To know pumpkin pie is to love it. So let’s discuss its interesting backstory for a moment, shall we?

When it comes to the history of the pumpkin pie, there’s a little fate and a little free will involved. Like all American pies, this one is a descendant of medieval crusts designed merely as vessels for fillings. Over the years, pie-making methods improved, and the size of a typical pie increased.

Meanwhile, in what would one day be called the United States, pumpkins were a staple crop for many Native Americans, with the shells being used for crafts, and the innards roasted by the fire and eaten. A useful little gourd indeed.

As the first settlers came to America from Europe, they learned to love some types of local produce out of necessity: it was that, or not eat. Pumpkin was one such food, which quickly entered their cooking repertoire.

After that, it didn’t take too long for Old World customs to meet up with this new-school vegetable, and the sweet pumpkin mixture was soon being poured into the pastry crusts they’d known back home. The first Thanksgiving feasts were celebrations of having “made it” in the New World, and the pumpkin pie has become wholesome symbol of freedom and survival.

In the 1900s, two separate factors contributed to the continued evolution of the pie: the growing use of evaporated milk, and the rising popularity of back-of-the-box recipes. In particular, the recipe printed on Libby’s canned pumpkin, which contains evaporated milk, proliferated and became quite popular; it remains one of the most requested and appears on their labels to this day.

Recipe notes:

• Both of these recipes call for canned pumpkin puree. Since there are sweeteners and spices in both recipes, use plain pumpkin puree rather than cans marked “pumpkin pie filling.”

• Does canned pumpkin puree give you a tinny taste in your mouth? Lightly cooking the pumpkin puree before using it in the recipe can reduce any flavor that the can may impart.

• Thick, but not as a brick: In there is a fascinating conversation about the effects of different thickeners on pie fillings. Here are two variations for pumpkin pie that have one major difference: one contains evaporated milk, and one contains sweetened condensed milk. The two recipes yield different textures. Why not try both and see which you prefer?

Pumpkin pie made with evaporated milk

Makes one 9-inch pie (8 servings)

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can plain pumpkin puree
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

Step 1:

Position a rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (212 degrees C).

Step 2:

Roll the pie dough to a circle about 12 inches in diameter; place it into the pie pan and crimp the edges. Keep the dough refrigerated while you prepare the filling.