Notice a theme?

Fall means pumpkin time.  How can I resist when I go to the store and see a lovely box full to the top with beautiful mini pumpkins?  When I brought it home, Nick thought I was going to be making a soup.  Nope, I decided I was going to try and make, for the very first time in my life, a pumpkin pie.

What, you ask?  How have I gone 25 years without having ever made a single pumpkin pie?  The answer is simple.  Costco.  And Sam's Club.  They make fabulous pies for super cheap.

But, now that I have my own family, and I am a compulsive baker, I just had to give it a try.

So going through a few recipes, I decided how best to make my own.  I wanted it to be creamy and light, so I thought I would use cream cheese.  But I also wanted it to be like an actual pie, so I bought a can of sweetened condensed milk.  It helps with the gelatinousness.  And here is what I ended up doing.

I seeded and baked a little sugar pumpkin (or pie pumpkin, whatever you call it) for an hour and a half. Then I mashed it and let it cool down.

While the guts were cooling, I started on the pie crust, it's one I've also perfected.

2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup ice water
2 tbsp sugar
Cut the butter into the flour and sugar.  Add ice water until a stiff dough forms, then put it back in the fridge.

Now, for the filling.

1 sugar pumpkin, cooked and mashed
1 can sweetened condensed milk (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 half brick of cream cheese
2 eggs
3 tbsp sugar
lots and lots of pumpkin pie spice (sorry, I never measure, I just add enough until it smells strong)

Beat the cream cheese until it is smooth, then add the eggs.  Add the mashed pumpkin and mix well.  Pour in the milk and sugar and spice, then mix for a few minutes until it is very smooth.  Set it aside.

Take your pie  crust out of fridge, flour it well, and roll it onto a floured surface.  Roll out until you are able to drape it into an oiled pie pan, and then cut off the excess.  Using your thumbs, pinch down the sides to give a rippled affect.  Then pour in your filling!

Bake at 325-350 for about 30-45 minutes.  At least I think……haha, sorry, my son was being a little crazy.  Just watch it well, and when it seems firm but jiggles a little like jello, it's ready to  be taken out. Let it cool down completely before you serve it so it has time to set.

When I was taking my picture, I asked Nick to come take a look.  He was like eww, so I told him to take a bite.  He did, then grabbed the whole piece off the plate and left.  A few minutes later, through a full mouth, he told me it was excellent.

Well, guess I did pretty good for my first try!