Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pies… Or are they?
The pumpkin pies are done! But, to quibble, I feel the need to point out that they are not pumpkin pies. They are butternut squash pies.
Thanks to my involvement in a terrific CSA, I learned years ago that good pumpkin pies… aren’t. In fact, often the canned pumpkin that one buys in the store is not pumpkin either. There are a lot of advantages to making pies with butternut squash rather than pumpkin. First, it just tastes better. Also, it has a much better texture – no stringy stuff! I don’t even process or mash the squash. It is the perfect texture for pies simply by roasting the squash for an hour and scooping out the innards.
And here the pies are, below. Those of you with eagle-eyes will note that the crusts are not homemade. I admit it, while I simply can not bring myself to make a pumpkin pie with canned pumpkin, by the same token I simply can’t see making a pie crust from scratch. First, I don’t like to do it, and second, I don’t see a difference in taste, mainly because I suck at making it. (Bad Foodie!).
I make up for it by adding cream cheese to the pie, making a really nice cross between a pumpkin pie and a cheesecake.
Recipe (makes 2 pies):
- 20 ounces cream cheese
- 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2 packed cups roasted butternut squash
- 5 eggs
- A pinch of salt, and cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger to taste (I say to taste because I really load it up on the cinnamon, and most people would not use as much as I do).
Bring all ingredients up to room temperature, making sure that the cream cheese is very soft. Blend cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add 14 ounces of milk, blending to ensure smoothness. Add the rest of the milk. Add squash, then eggs. Spice to taste.
Pour into prepared pie shells. I used one regular pie crust, and one graham cracker pie crust. Be warned, you very well may have extra mix left over. I throw the leftover in ramkins or a small baking dish and bake it up for a crustless pumpkin pie-like snack.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.
I am going to print this out to try. It’s sound quite easy and I like ‘easy’.
mmm save me a piece
What brand of pie crust do you use? They look delicious! (The pies not just the crusts)
These look and sound absolutely delicious. I don’t think I’m going to be able to wait till Thanksgiving to try them out. Thanks!