Beautiful Food

The best of both worlds is about to be witnessed in this post…

How do I know?

Because I made this…I ate it…..loved it, and my husband actually loved it, too!

So it’s a win-win right?

Especially when we’re cooped up inside for two days due to ICE-MAGEDDON 2017.  I mean, what else does one do besides watch Netflix and Bake?  I guess I could clean the house but….

but……….PIE!!!!   Always pie…..pie always wins…..it has a way to my heart……

SideNOTe** I made this on Martin Luther King Jr. Day…and I had to throw in a little bit of a message, hence the “made with love” cookie stamps.  I simply made a small amount of regular pie crust, and traced my hand with a rolling dough cutter, and used a cookie stamp for the hearts.

This is completely and totally optional, but I thought it added a nice touch, don’t you? 😉 Love is never optional, but hate is – (can I get an AMEN!?)  And that is my personal soapbox speech for the day!  Moving on….

Although it’s a very easy, and traditional recipe, I had to “spice it up” a bit and add a few of my own favorites to the mix.   Here goes nothing!

Pumpkin Pie with Oatmeal Cookie Crust

Time Commitment:  About one hour    Serves:  8-10 

You will need: 

1  9″ pie pan

1 cookie sheet to prevent overflow in oven

1 large mixing bowl

1 medium mixing bowl

Whisk

Rubber scraper

Measuring cups and spoons

A fork or pastry cutter

cooking spray

Ingredients: 

For the crust: 

1 cup of quick oats (you can use them as is, or pulse them in a food processor if you want them to be a little finer)

1/3 cup of flour (any kind)

1/3 cup of dark brown sugar

5 1/2 Tablespoons of cold, quality butter cut into pats (Challenge is my fave, mmm…)

A few Tablespoons of ice water near by, in case the dough doesn’t come together

A dash or two of cinnamon

For the filling: 

15 ounces of fresh or canned pumpkin

2 large eggs

1  14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

1 teaspoon of ground ginger

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, or the scrapings from 1 vanilla bean pod

Pinch of salt

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375º F

Make the crust first! 

• In your medium bowl, toss together the oats, flour, and salt/spice until combined.
• Add the butter a pat at a time and work them into the mix with your pastry cutter.
• After all butter is added, you may sprinkle a little ice bit of water at a time until the dough comes together.
• Spray your pie pan and press the dough into the bottom and push up the sides.  It may take a while to do this.  Have patience!  To make sure the crust has an even bottom, you can use the bottom of a measuring cup to smooth it out.
• Place in oven to bake for 13 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool (I set mine in the fridge for 15 minutes).

Reset oven to 425ºF

Make the filling while the crust cools, and the oven warms!

• Using your whisk and large bowl, stir together the pumpkin, milk, eggs, and vanilla.
• Add in the spices one at a time and whisk to combine completely.
• Once pie crust is cool to the touch, pour filling into crust and make sure it doesn’t overflow. Use your rubber scraper to help get it all out of the bowl.
• Set pie pan on cookie sheet (in case of spillage) and set in oven.
• Bake for 15 minutes. 
• Reduce temperature to 350ºF and bake for 45 minutes longer, or until a knife comes out clean from the center.

Let pie cool completely before serving.  Add any toppings you’d like!  Whipped cream, ice cream, marshmallows, more nutmeg and cinnamon.  What are your favorites? I’d love to hear.   Please share in the comments– I love new ideas and talking to new people 🙂

Enjoy a warm slice of pie on a cold winter’s day.   Happy January!

-K