If you’re looking for a show-stopping Thanksgiving dessert, Instagram pie whiz Helen Nugent’s bird-topped beauty is it. This pie’s custardy filling comes together quickly, so there’s plenty of time to work on decorations, which are baked separately and then assembled on the pie after baking.
Nugent’s recipe, featured in her new cookbook, “Pie Style: Stunning Designs and Flavorful Fillings You Can Make at Home” (Page Street; $23), calls for stencil cutouts, leaves and a mottled dough. Watch Nugent make this pie at noon EST Nov. 8 on her Instagram Live @batterednbaked.
Thanksgiving Turkey Pumpkin Pie
Makes one 9-inch round pie
Ingredients
2 discs Everyday All-Butter Pie Dough
1 disc Chocolate Pie Dough
4 large eggs, divided
1 teaspoon milk
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1⁄8 teaspoon ground cloves
Equipment
Turkey Body and Feather Border Stencil
Standard 9-inch pie plate
1½-inch leaf cutter
1 inch leaf cutter
2-inch assorted leaf cutters (maple leaf, oak leaf, etc.)
½ inch circle cutter or plain round pastry tip
Prepare the Stencil and Pie Top
To make the stencil, trace a turkey body and feather border on a sheet of paper. Cut out the turkey body and feather border and set aside.
Remove one disc of the Everyday All-Butter Pie Dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll out the dough to a 12-inch round, approximately 1⁄8-inch thick. Turn the pie pan upside down and use a sharp knife to cut out a 9-inch circle of dough. Slide the parchment, with the dough circle on it, onto a baking sheet and transfer it to the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes. Gather up the remaining scraps of dough and set aside.
Prepare the Pie Shell
Remove the second disc of the Everyday All-Butter Pie Dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle, approximately 1⁄8-inch thick. Transfer and fit the dough to the pie plate, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under the pie plate rim and use the baby finger on your dominant hand, angled, to create impressions around the edge of the pie (or create any border that you wish). Add the leftover dough scraps to those from the pie top and set aside. Place the pie shell in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
Cut the Stencil and Make the Decorations
Remove the pie top from the refrigerator. Position the turkey body stencil 1¾ inches in from the right edge of your pie top and centered, top to bottom. Use a sharp knife to cut out the turkey body. Position the feather border stencil 3¾ inches from the left side of the pie top and centered, top to bottom, and cut the tail border. Return the dough circle to the refrigerator.
Add the dough scraps from the stencil cutouts to the leftover scraps from the pie top and shell and roll them out to a circle, approximately 1⁄8-inch thick. Using a 1½-inch leaf cutter, cut 20 leaves (for the feathers). Using a 1-inch leaf cutter, cut 24 leaves (for the border), rerolling the dough if necessary. Place all the leaves on the baking sheet. Set the leftover scraps aside.
Remove the disc of Chocolate Pie Dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle, approximately 1⁄8-inch thick. Using 2-inch leaf cutters of your choice, cut out 12 chocolate leaves (for the feathers). Using a 1-inch leaf cutter, cut 24 leaves (for the border). Cut small pieces of dough to represent the turkey’s beak, wattle and feet. Place the leaves and decorations on the baking sheet.
To create the mottled pie dough for the short feathers, gather the leftover all-butter and chocolate dough scraps together in a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a circle, approximately 1⁄8-inch thick. Using a decorating tip or cutter with a 1⁄2-inch opening, cut 24 mottled circles. Add these to the baking sheet with the other decorations. Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator to chill.
Assemble the Pie Top
Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk together one of the eggs and the milk to make the egg wash. Set aside.
Remove the two baking sheets containing the pie top and decorations from the refrigerator. Brush the surface of the pie top with egg wash. On the left side of the feather border cutout, about ½ inch from the edge of the cutout, place the 12 chocolate 2-inch leaves, in a fan shape, slightly overlapping them as you go. Place the all-butter dough 1½-inch leaves in a fan shape against the edge of the feather border cutout, overlapping the chocolate leaf feathers slightly.
On the right side of the feather border cutout, pile the marbleized circles randomly to resemble ruffled feathers. Brush more egg wash around the border of the pie top. Alternate the 1-inch chocolate leaves and the 1-inch all-butter dough leaves around the border of the pie. Add the small pieces of dough that represent the turkey’s beak, wattle and feet.
Brush all the leaves and decorations with egg wash. Return the decorated pie top, on the baking sheet, to the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.
Bake the Pie Top
Using a spatula, transfer the pie top to another parchment-lined baking sheet (the one that has been in the freezer is too cold for the oven). Place the pie top in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and allow the top to cool on the baking sheet while you make the filling. Leave the oven set to 375 degrees.
Make the Pumpkin Filling
Whisk the remaining three eggs in a large bowl until combined. Add the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg and cloves and stir to combine.
Bake the Pie
Pour the filling into the chilled pie shell. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet (this will make it easier to move the pie in and out of the oven) and transport it carefully to the center rack of the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven. Using a large spatula or a pizza lifter, slide the baked pie top on to the pie. Return the pie to the oven and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, or until the filling is puffed but still slightly wobbly in the center. If you have a digital thermometer, place it in the center of the pie to check for a temperature of between 175 and 180 degrees. Allow the pie to cool for at least 3 hours before serving. The filling will continue to set as it cools.
The pumpkin pie filling can be made 1 day in advance and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
— From Helen Nugent’s “Pie Style” (Page Street; $23)
