Sunday, November 22, 2009

THE THANKSGIVING PIE


My daughter requests pumpkin pie every Thanksgiving, (I was planning on making one anyway) it's just that to her, the Pumpkin pie defines the tradition. Tradition is important to her as it is to many people for the simple reason that it provides a feeling of safety and security; it is something they can count on despite life's uncertainties. She had many years of erratic instability prior to coming to live with her Aunt and Uncle and we work very hard to provide structure and boundaries for her; hopefully we will eradicate her past fears, anxieties, and feelings of abandonment altogether. Pumpkin pie is a small gesture for a big-hearted little girl in need of more love, I'm afraid, than I will possibly ever be able to provide.

Here's my recipe. I hope you enjoy it in as many ways as she does.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pie with Ginger Streusel

Ingredients
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury) (I make mine from scratch, if you'd like that recipe, please holler!)
10 gingersnap cookies
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated fat-free milk
1 large egg
3 large egg whites
Note: I like mine to have plenty of spice flavor; I often really spice it up!--have fun!

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Roll dough into a 12-inch circle; fit into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Fold edges under, and flute. Freeze 30 minutes.

Place cookies, 2 tablespoons sugar, and flour in a food processor; process until cookies are ground. Add butter; pulse until crumbly.

Combine 3/4 cup sugar and remaining ingredients; pour into prepared crust. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Sprinkle crumb mixture over pie; bake an additional 20 minutes or until center is set. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

-Victoria Hart

4 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious. I have a recipe for putting a pecan topping on a pumpkin pie. That's tasty too! Nice blog!I've become a follower.

    Marty's Travel blog:
    http://martynelsonphotoart.blogspot.com/

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  2. It looks delicious and I bet it WAS delicious too!
    Susanne

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  3. Hi! :) I love your blog! :) I am also a great fan of pumpkin pie! :)

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