The fried pies received universal acclaim. Allen ate five on Monday, saving me from the task of batting clean-up on the second batch.
Since we fried two turkeys Thanksgiving morning, I skipped another round of fried pies. I would have had to fight for time in the hot oil, and, I was concerned that our families would feel deprived if the more traditional pie weren’t available.
The Pie Bible author, Rose Levy Beranbaum, suggests two solutions for soggy pumpkin pie crust. One, press a mixture of ground gingersnaps and pecans into the pie crust before filling it with the pumpkin custard. Two, bake the pie on the floor of the oven. Great results!
I used a Pyrex dish with a flat bottom, which she recommends. I saw a note from someone who used a pie pan with small feet, and it turns out the direct contact with the heat is part of the magic. Our oven has a small indentation in the bottom, so my pie actually didn’t have total contact, resulting in a crust with slightly overcooked edges everywhere it came into contact with the oven floor, and not as cooked where it didn’t meet the floor. For years, I’ve wanted a baking stone, and now I have one more reason to get one.
Rose’s Favorite Flaky & Tender Pie Crust worked very well, save for the oven floor mishap. It rolled out like a dream. If you fear pastry crust, try this one. Very forgiving. Her Great Pumpkin Pie also worked well. I actually found her website difficult to navigate, and the recipe written in a somewhat confusing manner, so printed it all out and read it through several times to be sure I got it all right.
Finely-processed gingersnaps and pecans.
The pie crust rolled out, turned under, and somewhat crimped.
Not as pretty, but highly effective, once the pecan-gingersnap mix is added.
The recipe calls for pre-cooking the pumpkin mixture.
Whirled around after bubbling a bit over the stove.
Much silkier once the eggs, cream, and milk have been blitzed in.
I used my leaf-cutters for a first round of garnish, but they were too small, so I hand-cut these from leftover pastry from another recipe.
It almost looked like chocolate when it came out!
nonsequiteuse 