The Best Pumpkin Pie!

The Best Pumpkin Pie!

from Ellen's kitchen, with thanks to Cook's Illustrated Recipe of the Year, 1993-2005

Ingredients:

• Crust:
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 10 tbs cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 3-3 1/2 tbs ice water
• Pumpkin filling:
• 2 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup milk
• 4 large eggs

For crust:

• Process:
• flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds.  Scatter butter over top and process until incorporated and looks like cornmeal, 7-12 seconds.  Sprinkle up to 3 tbs water over mixture, until get clumps.  Do not over mix.  Form into 4" disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Can refrigerate for 2 days, or freeze for 2 months.  If frozen, let thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
• Place:
• dough between two large pieces of wax paper and roll out from middle, rotating with each roll.  When 9" diameter, flip over and continue to roll out from center until 13-14" in diameter.  
• Peel:
• off one sheet of wax paper and flip dough over 9" pie plate, carefully removing second sheet of wax paper, letting excess dough hang over edge.  Gently press dough down into  plate and then up sides.  Fold excess dough under self and press and crimp dough to form edge.  
• Refrigerate:
• dough for 20 minutes or freeze for 5.  Prick bottom and sides with fork, in 1/2" intervals.  Cover dough with foil, pressing down gently onto dough and then pricking with fork.  Chill again for at least 30 minutes, more time even better to allow dough to relax.  
• Adjust:
• oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake pie shell for 15 minutes, pressing down on foil with mittened hand to flatten dough.  Remove foil and bake for 8-10 minutes longer, until middle just begins to brown.
• While:
• baking crust, complete filling.  
• Process:
• pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt for 1 minute.  Transfer pumpkin mixture to heavy-bottomed sauce pan, and bring to simmer over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.  As soon as crust comes out of oven, add cream and milk to pumpkin mixture and bring to bare simmer.  Process eggs in food processor until whites and yolks are mixed, about 5 seconds. With processor running, slowly add half of pumpkin mixture.  Stop and add remaining pumpkin mixture.  Process 30 seconds longer.  
• Immediately:
• pour pumpkin mixture into hot pie shell.  (Ladle any excess filling into pie after baking 5 minutes or so, when filling has settled.)  Bake until puffed, dry looking, and lightly cracked around the edges and center wiggles like gelatin when shaken, about 25 minutes.  Let pie cool on rack for at least an hour.   Serve fresh or chilled.