Old-Fashioned Bourbon Pumpkin Pie
It’s time for another pumpkin pie recipe! I will always remember the first time that I made a real pumpkin pie from scratch. It was in 2016, and I was just learning how to replace all of the things that I loved eating with homemade, from-scratch versions. It was around Thanksgiving, and I knew that I wanted to take a stab at roasting and pureeing my own pumpkin. It seemed like something that was going to take forever and lots of skill, but I soon learned that roasting my own pumpkin was incredibly simple. Why had I never tried it before?!
While there is nothing wrong with buying canned pumpkin (I still have to do this sometimes if I run out), it is incredibly satisfying to make your own pumpkin puree. Did you know that most canned pumpkin from the store is actually mixed winter squash? I would gather that a lot of it is made up of butternut squash due to its dark color, as real pumpkin is more of a yellow tone.
I have made this pie for years, and it always leaves people shocked when they give it a try. You just have to try it for yourself!
After taking a year off, we decided it was time to get back on Youtube. You can watch me make this pie in the video above and watch all of the steps from start to finish!
If you have a moment, I would love if you stopped by and subscribed to our Youtube channel. We are slowly growing an audience over there!
history of pumpkin pie:
You may not know, but the pumpkin has an American history. This vegetable is native to the Americas and was a staple in many Native Americans’ diets. When the colonists arrived, they were introduced to this incredible vegetable, discovering all of the many ways that it could be cooked.
While many associate pumpkin pie with the first Thanksgiving, the colonists’ pumpkin pie looked a little different than the custard in a pie shell dessert we know today. In fact, it was more of a sweet pumpkin stew or soup served inside of a roasted pumpkin. Jill and I want to make our own version of this and share it here soon!
a historical recipe:
The pumpkin pie that we know today started to show up in later centuries. When Thanksgiving was determined a national holiday in the 19th century, pumpkin pie was a staple part of that meal. I recently learned that during the American Civil War, the pumpkin was boycotted by people from the southern states. It represented the food of the North, so instead they used sweet potatoes and bourbon. I thought this was really interesting!
To go with that, I recently came across an antique cookbook titled “Housekeeping in Old Virginia” written by M.C. Tyree in 1879. This cookbook has a fascinating history itself, being written by the grand-daughter of Patrick Henry. It is a collection of recipes from many authors, many of them being black women, though they are largely uncredited.
I was curious to see if this, at the time, Confederate state included a recipe for pumpkin pie. It unsurprisingly does not, and instead has a sweet potato pie recipe using bourbon. The original receipt goes something like this:
“One pint potatoes, boiled and mashed with a teacup sweet milk, and run through a colander. Beat separately four eggs; cream one teacup butter with one of sugar. Beat in the yolks, then the potatoes, grate in half a nutmeg, pour in a large wineglass of brandy or good whiskey, and last of all, stir in the frothed whites. Bake in deep pie plates, lined with paste, without a top crust. Sift powdered sugar over the pies.”
the method:
Of course, the recipe that I am sharing today is pumpkin pie and not sweet potato. I do love making sweet potato pie!
I did, however, borrow a few method steps from this historical recipe which included mashing the pumpkin with the cream and bourbon, rather than mixing them all together. I also decided to use bourbon instead of only milk or cream, and I also added in half of a freshly grated nutmeg. This really brought out some intense flavors that I loved!
The bourbon adds something extra to the pie that I did not know I needed in my life. I love how it changed this pie into something sultry and dark.
Because this pie is a custard, it requires a par-baked or blind baked crust. This helps prevent the crust from becoming soggy. There is a bit of leftover crust that can be used to cut out designs to decorate the top. If you would like to do this, I suggest baking the designs separately and adding them on after the filling has baked so that they do not sink into the filling.
In the end, this pie turned out wonderful! It’s dark, sweet, and packed full of flavor. I think it would be really fabulous to try with mashed sweet potatoes next time. I also want to give the method of separately beating the egg whites and yolks and see how that transforms the filling.
Enjoy!
xoxo Kayla
Bourbon Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup butter or lard, cold and cubed
- 4 tbsp ice water
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup light cream
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 whole nutmeg, grated
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup salted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- With a pastry blender or fork, cut in the cold butter or lard until it resembles coarse crumbs about the size of a pea.
- Add in the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until it forms a dough. The dough should be able to hold together but it should still be a bit crumbly. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it with plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- When the dough has been chilled, roll it out to a 12-inch diameter. Place the rolled dough into a 10-inch diameter, deep dish pie plate. Trim the edges to have a 1-inch overhang and reserve any extra pie dough for later. Fold the edges under and pinch together. Then, flute the edges of the pie crust with your thumb and forefinger. Poke all over the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. Chill the crust for about 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line the shell of the pie crust with parchment and fill the parchment with pie weights. Bake the crust for 15 minutes with the pie weights, remove the pie weights, and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the bottom is no longer wet. Set the pie crust aside.
- If you would like to add some little decorative pie crust leaves, use the extra crust trimmings and cut with cookie cutters or freehand. Brush these with an egg wash and bake at 350° F for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Set these aside for later.
- While the pie crust is baking, make the filling. If you are wanting to roast a pumpkin, I suggest you do this beforehand. Roast the pumpkin halves on a parchment lined baking sheet at 425° F for about 50-60 minutes.
- With the roasted pumpkin or canned pumpkin, mash it together with the light cream and bourbon. Stir in the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, salt, eggs, and melted butter until the custard is smooth.
- In a small bowl, whisk together an egg and a splash of water. Brush the egg wash all over the par-baked pie crust. Pour the pumpkin filling into the pie crust and bake in a 350° F oven for 50-60 minutes or until the edges are baked and the center is still a bit jiggly.
- To prevent your pumpkin pie from cracking, turn off the oven and crack open the oven door once the pie is finished baking. It needs to cool down slowly, or else it may form cracks on the surface.
- Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, decorate the top with the baked pie crust designs that you may earlier. Simply lay them on top or gently press them into the filling. Decorate with whipped cream, if you prefer.
- Chill the pie until ready to serve.
Notes
You can make this pie with any winter squash such as butternut, acorn, kabocha, etc or sweet potatoes.
