Classic Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- Single Pie Crust:
- 1 1/3 cups (325 mL) Robin Hood® Original All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) All Vegetable Shortening, well chilled
- 3-6 tbsp (45-90 mL) ice cold water, divided
- Filling:
- 1 3/4 cups (425 mL) pure pumpkin purée
- 1 cup (250 mL) packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) Robin Hood® Original All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger, ground nutmeg; each
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
- 1 can (354 mL) Carnation® Regular, 2% or Fat Free Evaporated Milk
Directions
Step 1:
Pie Crust: Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Flour straight from the bag may be compacted. To loosen it up, scoop it out of the bag with another container or spoon before pouring it into your measuring cup. This will help you get a more accurate measurement. Level it off with a knife to make sure you have just the right amount.
Step 2:
Cut chilled shortening into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes. Work in shortening cubes into flour mixture, using a pastry blender or two knives, in an up and down chopping motion, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.
Make sure all your ingredients are well chilled. Cut up your shortening and put it in the freezer for about an hour. Make sure you use ice water, and even place your bowl and flour into the freezer for a few minutes to let them cool too.
The pieces of shortening help make your crust flaky, which is why you shouldn’t use an electric mixer as you may over work the dough.
Step 3:
Sprinkle half the maximum recommended amount of ice cold water over the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir and draw flour from bottom of bowl to the top, distributing moisture evenly into flour. Press chunks down to bottom of bowl with fork. Add more water by the tablespoonful (15 mL), until dough is moist enough to hold together firmly when pressed together.
Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
Step 4:
Bring dough together. Flatten ball into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick round disk.
Step 5:
Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 2 days for ease in rolling.
Step 6:
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
Step 7:
Roll dough from centre outward with steady pressure on a lightly floured surface (or between two sheets of wax or parchment paper) into a circle 2-inches wider than the pie plate. Transfer dough to pie plate by loosely rolling around rolling pin. Centre the rolling pin over the pie plate, and then unroll, easing dough into pie plate.
Make sure your rolling pin is well floured before rolling the dough. This will help stop your pie dough from sticking as you roll it out.
Step 8:
Trim edges of dough leaving a 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang. Fold edge under itself. Flute dough as desired.
Fluting the dough helps to ensure that your crust doesn’t shrink when baked.
Step 9:
Filling: Whisk together, in a large bowl, pumpkin purée, sugar, eggs, flour, spices and salt until smooth and well combined. Gradually whisk in evaporated milk. Fill pie shell with mixture.
Step 10:
Bake in bottom third of preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until set. Cool on wire cooling rack.