Note: this was made before becoming a gluten-free blog. Contains gluten.

Rewind, please? Please? Although I {really} wanted to, I wasn’t about to trash this after the time & money I had put into this damn pie. Plus, I promised I would bring pumpkin pie over to our friends for dinner and wasn’t about to replace it with a store bought one.  This was my first homemade pie and yes, I had expected it to be perfect. Maybe I have high expectations for myself, but who doesn’t?

Mistake #1: Flour wasn’t chilled which apparently = flakier crust

Cold Butter, check.

I was careful not to add too much water, fearful it would taste like cardboard.

Fail. Let me guess… not enough water?

Not about to start over,  so I made do and crossed my fingers that it was edible.

Who cares about the crust now when I just forgot to remeasure the whipped cream after whipped.

Hello pumpkin CREAM pie…

{Photographed by With Style and Grace}

Alright, this is where I went wrong. Mistake #1: After I mixed the flour & salt, I see a message from my girlfriend saying, “make sure everything, including the flour is cold”. Fail. Mistake #2: The amount of butter says 2 sticks PLUS 2 Tbsp… I apparently didn’t feel the 2 Tbsp were necessary. Mistake #3: I’ve never made whipping cream before so following the directions on the side of the heavy whipping cream box, I pour half the carton into my Kitchen Aid and once I saw peaks begin to form, I got so excited I dumped the entire batch into the pumpkin pie mixture… I’m not exactly sure how much, but certainly more than 1 cup.

Now, the worst part… cutting into the pie in front of our friends. Oh, I wanted to magically disappear, taking the  pie with me.  My husband moved me aside knowing if he didn’t intervene the pie would end up on the wall or perhaps in his face. Smart man. Then comes the taste test. Taste… well, actually it tasted just like pumpkin pie and surprisingly, delicious! How? No clue, but I’m determined to try {i.e. master} this recipe again and next time, it will be perfect.

What’s your favorite pumpkin pie recipe or tips/tricks that you swear by?

Spiced Pumpkin Pie Filling Recipe {adapted from Epicurious}

Ingredients

2/3 cup packed golden brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin

2 Tbsp mild-flavored (light) molasses – (I just used 1 Tbsp of maple syrup)

4 large eggs

1 cup whipping cream (beat heavy whipping cream until peaks)

1 purchased frozen 9″ pie crust or homemade crust (recipe above)

Directions

Place baking sheet in oven and preheat to 450°F. Whisk first 8 ingredients together in large bowl to blend. Whisk in pumpkin, molasses and eggs, then cream. Pour mixture into frozen crust.

Place pie on preheated baking sheet in oven. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F and bake until sides puff and center is just set, about 40 minutes. Cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serve at room temperature.

Pate Brisee Recipe {adapted from Martha Stewart}

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

1/2 cup ice water

Directions

Combine flour and salt in food processor, pulse. Add small pieces of butter and pulse until it forms coarse crumbs, approx. 10 seconds.

With food processor on, add ice water in a slow and steady stream until dough holds together without being too wet or sticky. Don’t pulse for longer than 30 seconds, says Martha.

Mold the dough to your pie pan and place in the freezer for at least an hour or overnight.