From-Scratch Pumpkin Pies

Pies are a great and wonderful dessert that everyone can into the mood for. One of the most favored of all pies has got to be pumpkin pies. Here is a great recipe that you can use to make your own pumpkin pies from scratch! After all, who wouldn't love to be able to brag about serving from scratch pumpkin pies?

Ingredients:

• 1 large pie pumpkin
• Aluminum foil
• Wax paper
• Baking sheet
• 1 large mixing bowl
• Adjustable speed mixer
• 1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces)
• 1/3 cup ice water (for crust)
• 1 1/2 cup flour (for crust)
• 1 cup butter (for crust)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 9 inch pie shell
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Recipe:

1. Prepare the pumpkin. In order to make your pie from scratch, you will need to first prepare the pumpkin. Contrary to popular opinion, this is something that is really rather easy. Begin by removing the top or stem of your pumpkin like you would if you were carving a Jack O'Lantern. Remove all the goop and glop from the inside of the pumpkin, and then cut the pumpkin in half. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and turn your oven on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the pumpkin halves onto the baking sheets, and then bake them for 1 1/2 hours or until the pumpkin is tender. After baking the pumpkin, remove from the oven and puree the pumpkin meat (the inside of the pumpkin).
2. Combine pie ingredients. Pour the pureed pumpkin into a large mixing bowl, and begin mixing the salt, ginger, cloves, sugar and cinnamon. Slowly add the eggs (while the mixer is on) as well as the evaporated milk. Once everything has been mixed thoroughly to a smooth consistency, it is time to preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Make the crust. In your pie shell, add your butter (softened in a microwave) and flower. The easiest way to do this is to use an electric mixer. As you are mixing the ingredients, make sure that you pour a little bit of ice water at a time (using the lowest speed on your mixer) until everything begins to clump together. Pull out some wax paper and place a little flour onto it, then place the dough onto the waxed and floured paper. Gently mold your dough into the pie tin so that it attains its proper shape. Once finished, place the tin into the refrigerator so the crust can set for at least an hour.
4. Pour the pie. After the pie crust has set properly, pour the pumpkin pie mixture into the pie shell.
5. Bake the pie. Once you have your pie mixture in the pie shell, it is time to bake the pie. Place the pie into the middle of your preheated oven, and allow the pie to cook for 50 to 65 minutes. You can check to see if the pie is done by poking a toothpick into the pie, and if it comes back clean, it is finished.

Once you have finished baking the pie, allow it to cool to just above room temperature. This recipe will make one pie that is nine inches in diameter, and will serve as many people as you cut slices for. Serve the pie while it is still warm, and be sure that you include either a touch of whip cream, or some vanilla ice cream! A great idea that you can use those left over pumpkin seeds for is roasting.