Pumpkin Pie 101

Anyone can bake a pie, and if you’re just starting out, a pumpkin pie is a perfect place to start! The ingredients are simple and little tweaks can make it better than the store bought version!

Here’s how I make mine: firstly, I make things easy on myself by using pre-rolled refrigerated pie crust. None of my friends can tell the difference between it and my from scratch version (but if you want to do it, here’s a great recipe). I also don’t bother with fresh pumpkin - the canned stuff has a good texture and is so much less hassle. Some people used evaporated milk instead of condensed, but I like the latter better. Here’s my full shopping list:

• 1 Pre-Rolled Pie Crust
  
• 1 Can of Pumpkin Puree (not filling)
  
• 1 Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 1 T of Pumpkin Pie Spice
  
• Dash of Freshly Ground Nutmeg
  
• Heavy Whipping Cream
  
• ¼ C Powdered Sugar
  

Set your over to 425 F and take your chilled dough out of the fridge. I like to grease my pie plate but if you forget your pie will still come out nicely (there’s fat in the crust). Now crimp your edges and put the pie crust back in the fridge.

Now mix together your pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, egg and spices until smooth. It’s my personal pie making philosophy that you can taste fresh nutmeg and I put it in almost all of my pies. Just a dash will do and it’ll make all the difference!

Next pour your mixture into your chilled crust and pop into the oven for 15 minutes. Lower your temp to 350 and cook for another 45. I usually put on a pie shield on my crust now (you can also just use aluminum foil!). When cooked, the center should still be slightly jiggly (technical term). Now turn the oven off and let the pie cool slowly. This will help any cracks from forming on the top. 

Once your pie has completely cooled, you can top with freshly made whipped cream. That’s just heavy whipping cream and a little powdered sugar beat on high until stiff. If it starts clumping together you’ve gone too far and made butter, so keep an eye on it! In these pictures I was low on time so I just used store bought whipped cream, which is fine too! 

I also like to top with candied pecans which are just melted butter, brown sugar and chopped pecans. 

See! You can make a pie! And it’ll be delicious! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Jessica Bakes | Mulberry Pie

Yesterday I made something incredible - a mulberry pie using berries from our own tree! We’ve got buckets of berries right now (or we would.. if we harvested them all) so what’s a gal to do? Make pie of course!

I used three cups of berries, which would be the equivalent of four or five hearty shakes of a branch over a sheet. I picked out the darkest and juiciest ripe berries, washed and measured them out. And don’t worry about the little stems - they soften and don’t negatively effect this delicious pie! 

“I’m a berry eater, mama!”

After a quick internet search and a combo of recipes, here’s what I came up with:

Mulberry Pie Recipe

• Two store bought pie crusts (for a 9" pie)
  
• 3 C mulberries
  
• 1/3 C flour*
  
• 2/3 C sugar*
  
• ½ t freshly ground nutmeg
  
• 2 T butter, cut into cubes
  
• Milk to brush on top crust

* plus a little extra (maybe ½ t each) to dust your crust before adding the filling. 

Let your pie crust warm up just a bit after taking them out of the fridge. I used to make my own crust, but it really stressed me out and took a lot of the fun out of pie making for me. So now I just dial 1-800-Betty Crocker (errr… buy the two pack at the grocery) and call it a day. Baking should be fun! 

To start, mix your berries, flour, sugar and nutmeg in a bowl. Add mulberries and coat them thoroughly. 

Before adding filling, dust the crust of your pie shell.

Top with cubed butter.

Cut and weave lattice top using second pie crust. Hide butter under intersections.

Crimp edges and lightly brush with milk.

Turn on and pre-heat your oven to 400F. Meanwhile, put your prepared pie in the fridge to chill for around 20 minutes.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Covered pie edges (with a silicon ring or foil) and turn the temp down to 350. Bake for another 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let pie cool for at least an hour and a half before serving (we had ours with vanilla ice cream!)

This pie is so subtle and on our first service (shortly after baking) the nutmeg came through strongly. The next morning when I had a piece (well, two pieces), the mulberry and nutmeg had blended beautifully. This is not a super sweet pie, like you might expect with blueberries or cherries, but that’s why we liked it so much!!

In The Kitchen | Key Lime Pie

I love baking and I especially love making pies (see my #Jessicas100pies on Instagram to view past pies!) I usually go with a flakey crust and custard filling, but for Adam’s birthday weekend, I decided to make his favorite - Key Lime Pie. The recipes I used were so easy and the result was tangy, sweet and silky. If you’re a newbie to pie making, I bet you could tackle this recipe! 

Graham Cracker Crust (original recipe here)

- 1 ½ C graham crackers

- 1/3 C sugar

- 6 T melted butter

Start by tossing your graham crackers into the food processor and get them pretty well crumbled. Add sugar. Slowly add melted butter until the mixture clumps up a bit. Transfer to 9″ glass pie dish and evenly press to bottom and sides. Using glass will help you hold the dish up to the light and see if you have any holes!

Bake for 7 minutes at 375. Let cool completely before filling. 

Key Lime Filling (original recipe here)

- 3 14oz cans of sweetened condensed milk

- ¾ C key lime juice

- ½ C sour cream

- 1 T freshly grated lime zest (about one lime)

Combine all ingredients and transfer to cooled graham cracker crust. I like for a little bit of the crust to show around the edges, so if you’ve used a smaller pie dish, you might have a little filling left over. Bake for 6 minutes at 350. Watch closely! Don’t let your pretty pie get brown. 

Let your pie cool on the counter and transfer to the fridge once at room temperate. To garnish, slice a lime with your mandoline (be careful!) and layer over the top of the pie. To serve, slice and add a dollop of freshly whipped cream (heavy whipping cream with a little sugar and dash of vanilla).