Imagine if pecan pie and pumpkin pie had a pie baby. It would be this spicy, silky custard pie topped with a streusel-like crumble that will satisfy both classic pie camps.
The recipe is featured in America’s Test Kitchen’s “The Perfect Pie: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic and Modern Pies, Tarts, Galettes and More” (America’s Test Kitchen, $35), which includes several other spectacular holiday combinations, including a Pear-Butterscotch Slab Pie.
To get the praline topping just right, ATK cooks suggest tossing chopped pecans with sugar and “a smidgen of corn syrup — just enough to make the topping clump like streusel.”
Pumpkin Praline Pie
Serves 8
Ingredients:
1 recipe Foolproof All-Butter Single-Crust Pie Dough (recipe follows)
Filling:
15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon table salt
Pinch ground cloves
1 cup evaporated milk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping:
1 cup pecans, chopped fine
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
Pinch table salt
2 teaspoons dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Directions:
Roll dough into a 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto a 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into the plate bottom with your other hand.
Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
Line chilled pie shell with a double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake on rimmed baking sheet until pie dough looks dry and is pale in color, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and continue to bake crust until light golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes longer. Transfer pan to wire rack while you mix the filling. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added.) Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
For the filling, process pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, salt and cloves in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until sputtering and thickened, about 4 minutes.
Off heat, whisk evaporated milk into pumpkin mixture, then whisk in eggs and vanilla. With the pie plate still on the baking sheet, pour filling into warm crust. Bake until filling is puffed and cracked around edges and center barely jiggles when pie is shaken, about 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the streusel topping: Toss pecans, brown sugar and salt together in a bowl. Add corn syrup and vanilla, using your fingers to ensure that ingredients are well blended. Scatter topping evenly over puffed filling. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until pecans are fragrant and topping is bubbling around edges, about 10 minutes. Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 4 hours, before serving.
Foolproof all-butter single-crust pie dough
Ingredients:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided
1¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ cup ice water, divided
Directions:
Grate 2 tablespoons butter on large holes of a box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 8 tablespoons butter into ½-inch cubes.
Pulse ¾ cup flour, sugar and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining ½ cup flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together.
Transfer dough to a sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form a compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and form into a 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
— From America’s Test Kitchen’s The Perfect Pie: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic and Modern Pies, Tarts, Galettes, and More (America’s Test Kitchen, $35)
