I heart Pumpkin Pie

Well you all know I love pumpkin... as evident by all of the baked goods involving pumpkin that I have made. Pumpkin pie can be a total belly bomb, butter, half and half, buckets of sugar... say it aint so!! You all know by now we don't need all those things to make a good pie right?? I decided to make a few small pies this weekend... why? Because I saw this recipe for no roll pie crust on Joy the Baker's blog. It involves using a cheese grater and frozen butter... and a dash of cream cheese? Doesn't it just sound FUN!? I had to try it straight away.

The pie however wasn't the most photogenic subject... and I was bringing it to John's parents house so I couldn't slice out a piece to take pictures of... sorry folks this is all you get. Yes that is a heart shaped pan... kinda looks like a deformed kidney...


Ok enough of my bad photography... I really need to set up a mini photo studio... maybe once John and I get married... I'm planning on putting one in the basement bonus room (and yes it's also going to be a sewing/craft room - and yes I know I'm a dork)... I just need to build a light box... and umm buy lights... right.

Onto the recipe. I made this filling along side a full fat, full on filling version last Thanksgiving... I didn't tell the family which was which... and guess what? They picked the skinny version as the better of the two!! Take THAT half and half!!

I think you should all go home and make some pie... no need for a special occasion! You can make this filling without a crust for a total skinny pie or use a graham cracker crust (yum), or go to your own pie crust recipe. For this I used Joy's no roll recipe> here. I've used the crust recipe below in previous pie baking extravaganzas.

Born Again Pumpkin Pie
recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

1/4 cup crushed gingersnaps
1/2 cup crushed graham crackers
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoons margarine, melted (I used a little more than 1 Tbs of butter)
1 16-ounce can pumpkin
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed
1 cup evaporated skim milk

Directions
1. In a 9-inch pie plate, combine gingersnap and graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and flour; drizzle with melted margarine and mix with a fork. Using your fingers, pat crumbs to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Chill about 1 hour or until firm.

2. In a mixing bowl combine pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Blend in egg product with a rotary beater or fork. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour in prepared pie shell. Cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until center appears set when shaken. Cool on wire rack; cover and chill to store. Makes 8 servings.