Admittedly, it's a different take on Pumpkin Pie. But different is something we love here at Tonia's Kitchen. It's what makes cooking fun, and what's more fun than Thanksgiving? Amy Traverso, who's the Senior Food Editor at Yankee Magazine came to talk about her Pumpkin Chiffon Pie. She says it's really something special, just look at the ingredients. Walnuts in the crust, along with whiskey (or brandy or bourbon). Amy told Tonia she used gelatin to give the pie that chiffon-like texture that really makes this pie stand out. It's been a favorite or hers for years. Try and find out why!
For the Piecrust:
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup graham-cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Set a rack to the second-to-bottom position.Grind walnuts coarsely in a food processor. Add graham crumbs and sugar; then pulse to blend while drizzling in melted butter. Press into a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake 10—15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Piecrust can be made up to 3 weeks in advance and frozen.
For the Filling:
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon whiskey or brandy
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 package powdered gelatin
- 2/3 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin purée, fresh or canned (not pumpkin-pie filling), such as One-Pie brand
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- 11/2 cups heavy cream
- Walnut halves
Instructions
In a heavy-bottomed 2-quart pot, whisk whiskey or brandy, milk, and gelatin together over low heat, continuously until gelatin is completely dissolved, 2—3 minutes. Whisk in brown sugar, then eggs one at a time; continue whisking over low heat (don’t let it come to a boil) as you add pumpkin, spices, and salt. Cook 5—7 minutes, until custard is smooth and steaming.Turn off heat and transfer custard to a large ceramic bowl to cool at room temperature. Don’t refrigerate, because you don’t want the custard to firm up.
In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. When custard has cooled to room temperature (about 45 minutes), fold cream in gently. Fold filling into cooled pie shell; chill at least 2 hours.
Garnish with walnut halves.
