5 Spice Pumpkin Pie

My family LOVES pumpkin pie. I love experimenting with baking new dishes – everything from coffee cake to cinnamon rolls – but nothing ever seems to disappear as fast as this pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin pie was one of the first things I ever learned how to bake! I originally used the Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe, but after a while, I got sick of baking the same recipe again and again. So I started to tinker with the recipe (to the delight of my family, of course) and I came up with the idea of using Chinese five spice instead of pumpkin pie spice. It gives the pie so much more depth of flavor.

Ingredients

Pumpkin pie is actually pretty simple to make. It’s a custard pie, so it’s stabilized with eggs, and contains dairy! You can use many store-bought components if you don’t have a lot of time (like me) and it still tastes great! You will need:

• 1 pie crust of your choice (I used a frozen pie crust, no regrets, but you can make one from scratch if you feel up to it!)
• Brown sugar: This adds an addictive caramel note to the pie.
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger
• Chinese five spice: This is a blend of spices that includes star anise, cloves, and cinnamon. You could also try many other unusual spice blends — I think garam masala, chai spice, quatre épices, or even ras el hanout would be fantastic! Of course, you can also use regular pumpkin pie spice.
• Flour: This adds a little bit more body to the pumpkin pie and helps stabilize it.
• Eggs
• Pumpkin puree: Canned pumpkin puree is great – and basically indistinguishable from fresh pumpkin, so use canned puree without regret!
• Evaporated milk

Tips

• Par-baking the crust helps it stay crisp and flaky in the oven. Line it with parchment paper and pie weights so it doesn’t sink! You can also use dried rice/beans or sugar as pie weights.
• The pie is done when it is puffed and set around the edges but still sunken a bit in the center. Removing it at that point will keep the pie from cracking, and the center will cook through as the pie cools.
• Ovens can run at different temperatures, so be sure to keep an eye on your pie! If the crust is browning too fast, cover it with a little bit of aluminum foil.

5 Spice Pumpkin Pie

The BEST pumpkin pie!

Prep Time: 15 min	Cook Time: 45 min
Total Time: 60 min	Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Lay crust in a pie pan. Dock the bottom, lay parchment paper and pie weights on it, and par-bake for 13 minutes, or until light golden around the edges.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, spices, and salt.
4. Crack in the eggs and mix until thick and well combined.
5. Scoop in pumpkin puree (make sure to scrape out the can!) and stir it in.
6. In two additions, stir in the evaporated milk.
7. Pour into pie crust and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until set and puffed about 2 inches in from the edge but still sunken a bit in the center
8. Let cool for 1 hour, slice and enjoy!

Notes

You can use a gluten-free pie crust and use cornstarch instead of flour to make this recipe gluten-free. To store it, cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate.