Health(ier) Pumpkin Pie

Growing up, my family had a tradition of eating PUMPKIN PIE FOR BREAKFAST on Thanksgiving (and sometimes Christmas). I'm continuing this beloved tradition in my family; it makes for an easy, no-fuss breakfast to hold us over until our early dinner feast.

This delicious pumpkin pie recipe is health(ier) because it is made with REAL FOOD ingredients: maple syrup and sucanat instead of white sugar, plus real milk and cream instead of canned evaporated milk. This recipe works great with homemade pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin.

It took me more than 5 years to develop this recipe! I only make pie at Thanksgiving (and sometimes Christmas), so it took a really long time to finally perfect this recipe. Each year, I noted down what I did different in the recipe; the pie was always yummy, but it wasn't quite perfect until this year. FINALLY! This recipe captures that classic pumpkin pie flavor I was looking for, with just the right amount of spice and sweetness.

You can use this pumpkin pie filling recipe with your favorite pie crust. I use this easy recipe for Einkorn pie crust, made with real butter. That recipe makes a double crust, so I like to freeze one of the crusts for later use. With that recipe, you do NOT need to parbake the pie crust for this pumpkin pie. It works great to just pour the filling directly into the unbaked crust.

Some years, when I'm crunched for time, I make my pumpkin pie with a ready-made organic wheat pie crust from the store. Just beware that if you do that, and your storebought crust comes in an aluminum pie plate, this recipe will make a little more filling than you'd need. But this is the perfect amount of filling for a pie baked in a typical 9-inch pie plate.

Pumpkin Pie

Makes filling for one 9-inch pie

Ingredients

• 1 & 2/3 cups homemade pumpkin puree (or substitute one can of pumpkin puree)

• 2 large eggs, preferably from pastured hens

• 1/4 cup whole milk

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/3 cup real maple syrup

• 1/4 cup sucanat

• 1/2 tsp finely-ground Celtic sea salt

• 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ginger

• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

• 1/8 tsp allspice

• Prepared pie crust (I like this Einkorn butter pie crust)

• OPTIONAL topping: honey-sweetened whipped cream

Instructions

1. Get your pie crust all ready before you start making the filling. With the Einkorn pie crust, there is no need to parbake the crust before baking the pie. When I use a storebought organic wheat crust, I do parbake the crust per the manufacturer's instructions.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

3. Combine all pie filling ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.

4. Pour the pie filling into the prepared pie crust. (Or, if you prefer to not have to transport the wet-and-easy-to-spill pie, put the pie plate into the oven and then carefully pour the filling into the crust.)

5. Bake the pie at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake for 40-45 more minutes.

6. The pie is done when the filling has set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

7. Once the pie is cool, serve it topped with whipped cream. Yum!

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