This recipe was shared with me by my aunt on Thanksgiving this year. It’s a bit laborious given that it calls for making the pumpkin puree and not using canned pumpkins (or as ML often calls them, ‘pämp-kiNG‘). But, I feel its worth it as the pie tastes a lot more fresh and “light”.

Pumpkin Puree

Preheat the over to 350 °F Cut the stems of 1 small-medium sugar pumpkins and scoop out the insides and discard. You can save the seeds for roasting (see below). Cut the pumpkin in half and lay on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for about an hour or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from the over and let it cool.

Making the Pie

Preheat the oven to 425 °F. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of raw cane sugar, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Beat in two eggs and the yolk of another. Scrape out 2 cups of the pumpkin puree from the pumpkins that we just roasted. Add in a 12 oz. can of condensed milk. Whisk the bowl until everything has mixed together well and you end up with a homogeneous mixture.

Pour the mix into a pie shell and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 °F and bake for another 40 minutes or until a knife comes out dry from the pie.

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

Pre-heat the oven to 275 °F. Instead of disposing the pumpkin seeds, rinse them in cold water and remove any pulp and strings. Toss the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and spray some olive oil on top of them (or butter if you so choose). Sprinkle some cayenne pepper, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss in the oven for about 10 minutes or until seeds are golden brown. Check for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.