2 years ago I posted a recipe for pumpkin pie that I had been making for several years and really liked. For unknown reasons, my pie last year was a huge flop. Well, that might be a bit of a dramatic overstatement, it still had a nice taste but there was a giant canyon right down the center of the pie and it seemed really thin to me. Chances are I just did something wrong when measuring or it was simply over-baked. Still, it got me thinking. Should I really only have one way to make a pumpkin pie? Surely not, is the answer.
So here’s a secret, I almost hate to give it away, you know those recipes on the back of bags/cans/boxes? Yeah, those ones that people tend to ignore because surely a simple back-of-the-box recipe can’t be as good as a fancy schmancy recipe from a blog or cookbook – except, maybe it can be! Maybe the people producing the foods inside the bag/box/can really know how to highlight it. Makes sense, right? It reminds me of one of my favorite episodes of Friends, the one where Monica really wants Phoebe’s Grandmother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. Turns out that fancy schmancy recipe was created by “Nestle Tollhous-ah”. The same one from the bag of chocolate chips.
With that sentiment in mind I decided to go for it and try the recipe from the back of the can. Is this an earth shattering original recipe? Absolutely not. You don’t even need to visit my blog to find (though I did make one small change). But it does deserve to be highlighted. It produced an amazingly creamy pie filling that did not have a canyon crack going through the middle. A pumpkin pie that was a real man-pleaser. So there. Secret’s out. This is not my recipe, it belongs to Libby. I hope you don’t mind that I am sharing it here.
Classic Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
1 9-inch pie crust*, unbaked
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 15 oz can LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
*I used this pie crust recipe
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the pie crust dough in a 9-inch pie pan and prepare the edges as desired, set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix together the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Add the pumpkin and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low, slowly add the evaporated milk and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Carefully pour the pie filling into the unbaked pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 and continue baking for 40-50 minutes, or until the pie is no longer jiggly and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (mine took 48 minutes). Place the pie on a cooling rack and cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. Serve with whipped cream.
Very slightly adapted from the back of the LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin can
What a beautiful pumpkin pie and gorgeous little beauty!
The Libby pumpkin pie is my family’s “secret family recipe” that isn’t do secret. We always double the spices. It kicks up the flavor a lot. It really is an awesome pie, so try that next time!
Oh, I double all the spices. My sister doubles them all except the cloves. Personal preference 🙂
I’ll give that a try some time! Thanks!