This pumpkin pie is velvety smooth with the perfect amount of spices. The homemade gluten free pie crust is simple to make and easy to work with to make beautiful designs or classic crimping.
Ingredients
Instructions
For the pie crust:
- In a large bowl, place the flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine.
- Add the chopped and chilled butter, and toss to coat it in the dry ingredients.
- Flatten each chunk of butter between your thumb and forefinger to make flat shards of butter, coated fully in flour.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients with the butter shards, add the sour cream, and mix to moisten the dry ingredients with the sour cream. The dough should be shaggy and still somewhat crumbly.
- If there are any portions of the dough that are especially dry, drizzle cold water or vodka by the teaspoonful to those parts and then mix to moisten them.
- Drizzle in more cold water or vodka only as necessary to moisten all of the dry ingredients. Knead the dough together until it begins to come together.
- Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and press into a disk as you close the plastic wrap around the dough. Place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
- After the dough is chilled, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and sprinkle the top lightly with more flour.
- Roll the dough out into a rough rectangle that is about 1 inch thick, moving the dough frequently and sprinkling it lightly with flour if it begins to stick. Fold the dough over on itself in thirds like you would a business letter.
- Sprinkle the dough again lightly with flour, and roll out the dough once again into a rough rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold again in thirds.
- Sprinkle the dough again lightly with flour, and roll out once more into a rough rectangle, for a total of 3 times.
- Fold the dough in thirds again, then fold in the sides to make a square packet of dough. Press the dough together, and try to round the sides into a disk.
- Roll the dough out into an approximately 11-inch round, about 3/8-inch thick. If the dough splits on the edges, pinch them together.
- If the dough feels warm at all, or like the butter is melting, cover it with plastic wrap and chill it until the butter is firm again.
- Spray the pie plate with nonstick spray. Roll the pie crust loosely onto the rolling pin and then unroll it over the prepared pie plate. Trim any rough edges of the crust. Lift up the edges of the pie crust gently to create slack in the crust, and place the crust neatly on the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.
- Tuck the excess pie crust under itself along the perimeter of the crust, where it overhangs the pie plate. Crimp the edge gently all the way around the crust by pinching the dough at regular intervals with one hand, and creating a crimped impression with the forefinger of the other hand.
- Cover the pie crust with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (and up to 3 days).
For the pumpkin pie:
- Preheat oven to 425℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a stand mixer with whisk attachment or an electric mixer, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin puree, and eggs. Beat well.
- Add evaporated milk and vanilla, and combine.
- Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and unwrap and discard the plastic.
- Optional: Brush the raw and chilled pie crust with beaten egg white before baking for extra insurance against sogginess.
- Pour filling into pie shell. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350℉ and continue baking for 35 minutes more. Check for doneness, the filling should have some give when you move it. Insert a cake tester or knife about an inch from the center. It should come out clean if the pie is done. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
If you prefer to not use gluten free flour, you can substitute all purpose flour using the same measurement.
