Pumpkin Pie with Browned Butter & Apple Cider

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Maybe I should have waited until next Thanksgiving to share this—maybe Pumpkin Pie fatigue has set in.  But not for me.  I just love the smooth, custardy richness of good pumpkin pies, and I know  lots of people out there like to serve them all through the holiday season (right?). 

Although I bake up a pumpkin pie every year for Thanksgiving, I never make the same recipe twice. It's biologically impossible. I'd implode if I tried. Plus, being the self-proclaimed pie obsessive that I am, I'm all too happy to play with the basic recipe, tweaking it a little here and there.

The last few years I've been trying to make a pie that my milk-and-cream-avoiding husband Daniel can eat (most pumpkin pies are heavy on the milk and/or cream). Last year I used coconut milk and chai-type spices and it was wonderful. But this year I decided to go in another direction and just elimate all the cream entirely. Instead, I substituted a little Calvados (apple brandy) and a generous amount of brown butter—two ingredients that simply scream festive, early winter goodness.  In place of the Calvados, you could also use some fresh apple cider.  But Calvados  is of course apple cider amplified; in this recipe it provides a little moisture, as well as a richly distilled and pleasantly boozy apple kick.  And then there's the butter.  (Thank goodness Daniel can eat butter.)  Who doesn't love the gorgeous, nutty flavor of browned butter?  Is there anything better? If you know me, you know that I use it often, in everything from applesauce to rhubarb compote to shortbread cookies.

As the foundation of the pie, I start out with my simple homemade pie crust.  It's so easy and produces such perfect flakiness, it's actually the one recipe I don't mess with, but use as is.  Then, much like my Sweet Potato Ginger Custard Pie, you simply bake the pie until most of the custard has set but still has the suggestion of a little jiggle in the center.  There is nothing wrong with a little jiggle.  And then you'll know it's baked just right.

 

Pumpkin Pie with Browned Butter and Cider

 

For the pie crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 to 5 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (homemade or canned, see note)

1 stick butter

5 eggs

1/4 cup apple cider (or 2 tablespoons calvados)

1 tablespoon grated fresh gingerroot

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of ground mace

1.  To make the crust, in a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour and salt.  Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces (three to five 1-second pulses).  Ad ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the mixture is just moist enough to hold together.  Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic and flatten into a disc.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out.

2.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the piecrust to a 12-inch circle.  Transfer the crust to a 9-inch pie plate.  Fold over any excess dough, then crimp as decoratively as you can manage. 

3.  Prick the crust all over with a fork.  Freeze the crust for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Cover the pie with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights (you can us pennies, rice, or dried beans for this; I use pennies).  Bake for 20 minutes; remove the foil and weights and bake until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes more.  Cool on a rack until needed. 

4.  For the filling, pre-heat oven to  325ºF.  In a large skillet, melt the stick of butter over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the frothy white milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and turn a fragrant, nutty brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Brown butter can burn quickly, so watch it carefully. Another tip: when the frantic sound of bubbling begins to die down, that is when you know your brown butter is almost ready, so use your ears as well as your eyes and nose for this one.

5.  In a food processor, combine the pumkpin puree, browned butter and all remaining filling ingredients and run the machine until everything is smooth and incorpated.

6.  Spoon filling into pie crust and spread until flat and even.  Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the custard is mostly firm and set but jiggles slightly when moved, 45 to 55 minutes.  Let cool to room temperature and serve with fresh whipped cream.