holiday goodness

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday, the beginning of a long, festive & filling season. This pie was a big hit at our house, so I wanted to share it with you.

maple pumpkin pie with a whole wheat walnut crust

1 cup whole wheat flour

4 Tbsp sweet cream butter

1/4 cup toasted walnuts, ground fine

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin, or 1 15 oz. can or jar of pumpkin

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup whole milk

prepare the crust

cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the ground walnuts. Add the egg & mix until it becomes a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least one hour.

When dough has chilled, roll out on a lightly floured surface & use it to line a 9-inch glass pie plate. Prick the pastry & bake it for 10 minutes in a 400ºF oven. Remove & let cool. Turn the oven up to 425º.

prepare the custard

beat together the pumpkin, maple syrup, eggs, fresh ginger & spices until well combined. Mix in the milk.

assemble the pie

pour the pumpkin mixture into the pre-baked pie shell. Bake at 425º for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350º & bake for 30 more minutes until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack. Wonderful alone, or serve with fresh whipped cream or a really nice vanilla ice cream. Walpole Creamery Sweet Cream ice cream is divine.