This pie is simply different from the usual ones. I am no authority on the traditional pumpkin Pie but I do know that this one is simply delicious and definitely worth a try. Its not among those which is likely to win a beauty contest but it sure would give a good competition in the taste department. This pie has been inspired from Dorie Greenspan's Pumpkin Pie but slightly adapted to add in few more different ingredients and I should say that I dint let myself down completely for the first try. I am not great at making Pie dough but this one was much much better than any before.
I had gingersnaps left from my batch made earlier and I thought why not use this in this recipe. Also I have used Whole wheat pastry flour in my pie dough. I dint have corn syrup as called for in the recipe, so used honey instead. And this variation gives ta-da, this slightly different version of the Thanksgiving Special - Pumpkin Pie
Put the flour,sugar and salt and combine well.
Drop in butter and shortening and combine well without overmixing the dough – incorporate little water – just until everything comes together. refrigerate for at least an hour.
Roll out the dough on the floured surface and then place it in a buttered 9 inch pie plate.
Trim out the excess and now top the crust with the powdered gingersnap powder until it covers the pie crust.Refrigerate again for 20 min.Preheat oven 400 F.
Butter the shiny side of an aluminum foil and cover the pie with it.
Place some pie weights and then place in the oven , to bake for about 25min. remove the weights and then bake for 8 more minutes. Cool to room temperature before pouring in the filling.
.For the pumpkin filling, place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse and process, for about 2 min. Leave the filling in the processor for the moment.
For the pecan filling, in a medium bowl, whisk all the ingredients (except pecans) for the filling until combined.
Give the pumpkin filling one last pulse in the processor, tap it on the counter to remove any bubbles and then pour it out into the pie crust. Top the pumpkin filling with pecans and the pour the pecan filling on top. make sure all the nuts are covered with the pecan filling mixture.
I made this pie for Thanksgiving despite the missing steps-I also made a gingersnap pecan crust. The pecan layer ran into the pumpkin layer when I poured it on top of the pie, but the pecans floated back up during baking (350 for about 45 minutes or until the middle doesn't jiggle). It was completely unattractive but disappeared to rave reviews from the crowd. It was absolutely delicious-like sticky gingery toffee pudding and I will definitely keep fooling around with this recipe because I think we have a winner here. Would like the pecan layer to be more distinct, wonder if I should pour that over the gingersnap crust and then pour the pumpkin on top. And I can't even imagine how awesome this would be hot out of the oven with haagen dazs vanilla ice cream on it.
By Sandra on Nov 24, 2011