Pumpkin Sugar Pie with Cookie Crust
This year, we are baking a Pumpkin Sugar Pie with Cookie Crust to ensure a gorgeous crack-less top, a creamy pumpkin filling and the easiest press-in crust. Woohoo! No cracked top, no precise addition of ice water to the dough, no rolling the dough. Just pure ease, as the holiday should be (yes, you heard me).
All of the above issues are so annoying. You work hard to make a beautiful pumpkin pie, and when you remove it from the oven and cool it, it’s got big cracks in the top. That stinks. Now what? Cover them with little pastry leaves? Sure, if you happen to have an extra hour or two (NOT!). And what about the dough? You spend the time to make the perfect pie crust and then you roll it. It either doesn’t roll into a pretty circle or it falls apart when you try to put it into the pie dish. So annoying!
This pumpkin sugar pie solves all of those problems. The filling is thickened with flour, not eggs, and the flour eliminates the cracks and instead produces a glassy smooth top. Yayyy. The crust is similar to a cookie dough and just as easy to make. You then press it into the pie dish. There is no rolling involved. Seriously, you are going to love this one. Oh, and it tastes AMAZING!
Begin by creaming the butter and sugar together and add the egg yolk and vanilla.
Add the flour and salt and mix until crumbly.
Add the water and mix until the dough is smooth.
Take chunks of dough and press it into the pie plate. Start with the sides of the plate and work toward the center.
Add the water and mix until the dough is smooth.
Take chunks of dough and press it into the pie plate. Start with the sides of the plate and work toward the center. No rolling! Chill for a minimum of 30 minutes and then bake, without pie weights, for about 15 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden.
Once baked, remove from the oven and brush the egg wash over the crust.
For the filling, combine granulated sugar and flour followed by the brown sugar. Whisk in the milk, cream, vanilla and salt just to combine. Too much whisking will leave air bubbles. Gently whisk in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
Pour into the crust and bake until the filling is set at the edges, about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature and then chill for at least 2 hours.
Slice and serve with confectioners’ sugar over top or whipped cream!
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Pumpkin Sugar Pie with Cookie Crust
Makes: 8-12 slices
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour & 30 minutes plus chill time 3 hours
Ingredients
Press-In Cookie Crust:
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, separated
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp water
Pumpkin Sugar Pie:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (see Chef’s Note below)
Instructions
Press-In Cookie Crust:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or if you don’t have an electric mixer, feel free to mix in a bowl with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula), cream the butter and sugar on medium-low speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, if using, and mix on medium speed to combine. Scrape the bowl well. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until fully incorporated, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Add the water and mix just until the dough is smooth, about 1 minute more. If the filling still looks dry or crumbly, you can add a few more drops of water until it holds together when pressed.
Turn out the dough and use your fingers to press it evenly into the pan or pans—this crust will hold a shape if you crimp it, but it also looks nice just flattened evenly to the edges. Chill for at least 30 minutes, and up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake, without pie weights, for 15 to 18 minutes, until the crust is beginning to turn lightly golden. If the bottom crust starts to puff up, you can poke the bottom with a fork in a few places to deflate it, and continue baking (the egg wash will seal the holes).
Remove the pan from the oven, brush the bottom and sides with egg wash (mix the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water) and let cool completely in the pan.
Pumpkin Sugar Pie:
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar and flour to combine. Add the brown sugar and mix to combine. Whisk in the milk, cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix just to combine—too much whisking will lead to lots of air bubbles that can linger on the surface of the custard after you transfer it to the crust. Gently whisk in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice until incorporated.
Place the parbaked crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pour in the custard (pour any that doesn’t fit into a separate ramekin and bake). Bake until the filling appears set at the edges but is still jiggly in the center, 28 to 32 minutes. (In a deeper pan this can take much longer, even 45 minutes to an hour.) Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 2 hours, or until ready to slice and serve.
Chef’s Note:
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own by combining 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg but feel free to customize to your tastes. You won’t need it all for this recipe, but it’s great sprinkled on toast with a little sugar!
Recipe from Food52
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