Sunday, November 28, 2010

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie


The Mission:
To make two delicious pumpkin pies to bring for Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house. And the only way I know how to make delicious pumpkin pies is to use the original Libby's recipe. It's what I've always used and it tastes absolutely wonderful, so I really don't feel the need to try anything else. I am lazy, though, and buy pre-made pie crusts.... perhaps that's cheating but I'm okay with it :)

The Ingredients:
  • 1 can (29 oz.) Libby's 100% pure pumpkin
  • 2 cans (12 oz. each) evaporated milk
  • 1 and 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  • 5 large eggs
  • 2 unbaked 9 inch pie crusts
The Instructions:
  1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the canned pumpkin, sugar and all of the spices.
  2. Line 2 9-inch pie plates with the pie crust and press the edges into scallops.
  3. Crack one egg into each pie crust, making sure not to break the yolk. Swirl the pie plates around until the egg white has coated the bottom of the crust. Pour the eggs into the pumpkin mixture and set the pie crusts aside.
  4. Add the remaining eggs to the pumpkin mixture and beat in well. Gradually stir in both cans of evaporated milk.
  5. Divide pumpkin equally between both pie plates making sure you don't over flow the crust. Place strips of aluminum foil over the crusts to prevent burning. (If you have pie shields, use those instead.)
  6. Bake in a preheated 425*F oven for 15 minutes.
  7. Reduce heat to 350*F and bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
  8. Cool on wire racks for 2 hours. Serve with cool whip, whipped cream, ice cream, or plain.
The Results & Reviews:
The pies turned out fantastic as I knew they would and everyone gobbled them up. Dinner guests were very complementary, which is always an absolute joy! I'm always sad to see that they're gone since I have an addiction to pumpkin pie and would be happy to eat them all by myself without sharing!
Note: This recipe turns out much, much tastier than Libby's "Easy Pumpkin Pie" with the spices already mixed into the canned pumpkin. I highly recommend using the original and not subsituting "pumpkin pie spice" for all of the individual spices either.