I made pumpkin puree with our jack-o-lanterns and couldn’t help but enjoy the first bit in a delicious pie. This recipe comes from Lorna Sass’ Whole Grains Every Day Every Way cookbook.

Pumpkin pie with a pumpkin seed crust

For the crust:

1 cup spelt flour, plus more for rolling the dough

¼ cup hulled, raw unsalted pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits

1 teaspoon apple cider or raspberry vinegar

 

For the filling:

2 large eggs

2 cups pumpkin puree or 1 can (15-16 ounces) of unsweetened pumpkin puree

1-1/4 cups 2% milk (I used almond milk and less because my puree was quite wet)

¾ cup-1 cup light brown sugar to taste

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

 

To make the crust:

Put the flour, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until the pumpkin seeds are finely ground.

Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons of cold water and the vinegar and pulse until the mixture clumps together in a mass. Remove the blade and gather the dough into a ball. Press into a flattened disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Place on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400*F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 12-inches in diameter. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough, if necessary, to facilitate rolling. Transfer the dough to a 10-inch pie plate and press it into the bottom and almost to the top of the pie plate. Prick with a fork in several places. Press a sheet of foil onto the crust and weigh it down with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Pour out the weights. Set the pie plate on a cooling rack and remove the foil. Reduce the oven temperature to 375*F.

To prepare the filling: In a food processor or electric mixer, combine the eggs, pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt and vanilla extract. Process until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Trim off any exposed crust to avoid burning.

Bake until the filling diesn’t jiggle when you gently move the pie from side to side, 35 to 45 minutes.

Set the pie on a cooling rack. Serve at room temperature or chilled with whipped cream, if desired.

Variation: Use hulled, unsalted sunflower seeds or walnuts instead of pumpkin seeds.

Resource:

Sass, L. (2006). Whole Grains: Every Day, Every Way. Crown Publishing, New York:NY