pecan maple streusel pumpkin pie + cookbook giveaway!

Why don’t we just continue on with the fall flavors this week?  From apple pie pancakes to pumpkin pie.  And a fun giveaway too!   Today’s pie isn’t just any pie.  It’s a pecan maple streusel pumpkin pie.  Sounds pretty awesome huh?  It is.  Trust me, it is.

Perfect to take to any Thanksgiving gatherings.  Or any gathering for that matter.  We shared it with some friends and they definitely enjoyed it as much as we did.  I ended up skipping out on the maple part, but honestly, it wasn’t needed.  The pie already has tons of great flavors going on (and is sweet already), so if you leave it out like I did, you’ll still be a happy pie eater.

A note on the crust – mine sure isn’t pretty!  Also, feel free to ignore the dirty stove…..  I used all butter instead of butter + shortening.  It turned out great and the buttermilk in the crust gives it a nice tang which was a delicious compliment to the sweet pie filling.

Pecan Maple Streusel Pumpkin Pie

Recipe from America’s Best Harvest Pies by The America Pie Council with Linda Hoskins (republished with permission)

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp table salt (I used a bit less and sea salt instead)
• ¾ cup vegetable shortening (I used butter)
• ½ cup butter (not margarine)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• ⅓ cup cold buttermilk

Filling:

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 15 oz. canned pumpkin
• 14. oz canned sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves

Topping:

• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp cold butter
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Maple Drizzle Garnish:

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 3 tbsp whipping cream
• ½ tsp mapleine

Directions

1. For the crust: In a large bowl, mix together the flour and the salt.  With a pastry blender, cut in shortening until flour resembles cornmeal.  Cut in butter until it resembles small peas.  In a small bowl, beat egg with a fork.  Beat in buttermilk.  Mixture will look almost gelatinous.  Quickly mix buttermilk mixture into the flour until flour just begins to hold together.  (You can also pulse everything together in your food processor like I did!)  Separate flour mixture into halves and form each half into a disc.  Wrap each disc tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour up to two days.
2. After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and remove one disc from the refrigerator (save second disc for another use).  On a lightly floured surface, roll out disc to fit a 9-inch pie pan.  Place a piece of parchment paper inside pie pan over the crust and fill with pie weights (I skipped the parchment + pie weights).  Bake for 20 minutes or until almost done and just beginning to turn lightly brown.  Remove from oven and remove parchment paper and pie weights.  Set aside to cool slightly.
3. For the filling: While the crust is cooling, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  In a medium bowl that allows for easy pouring, slightly beat eggs.  Whisk in pumpkin and sweetened condensed milk.  Whisk in cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves until well combined.  Set aside.
4. To make the streusel topping: In a medium sized bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until it resembled small peas.  Mix in pecans.
5. Pour pumpkin mixture into baked crust.  Top evenly with streusel mixture, making sure to put it on very lightly so as not to mix it in with the pumpkin.  Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Place foil around the edges so as not to burn the crust.
6. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool completely.
7. [I skipped this next step] When completely cooled, make maple drizzle by thoroughly mixing the confectioner’s sugar, whipping cream, and mapleine in a small bowl with a spoon.  Drizzle glaze over cooled pie.
8. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

Phew! Lots of steps, but so worth it.  And I promise, it’s really not that difficult, especially if you use your food processor to pulse the dough together.

So this cookbook: America’s Best Harvest Pies by The America Pie Council with Linda Hoskins.  You get a chance to win a copy of your own!  First a bit about it.  There are 10 different pie sections: apple, blueberry, cherry and mixed fruit, mixed berry, peach, pumpkin, raisin (who knew that was a pie category?!), raspberry, strawberry and sweet potato.  TONS of pie recipes all from people who entered into the National Pie Championships.  There are lots of unique recipes in this cookbook, so it’s pretty cool.  It’s not filled with mouth watering pictures, but it does show what the pie looked like when entered into the contest.

Win a copy of America’s Best Harvest Pies

Leave a comment for each item.  The more comments, the more chances to win!

1. Tell me what your favorite kind of pie is and if you’ve ever made a pie before/what kind you made.
2. Like Fit Mama Real Food on facebook.
3. Follow Fit Mama Real Food on twitter (@fitmamarealfood) + tweet about this giveaway.
4. Follow Fit Mama Real Food on pinterest + pin this post.
5. Follow Fit Mama Real Food on instagram.

Five ways to enter = more chances to win.  Giveaway closes in 1 week, on Wednesday November 20th.  Open to US residents.

So what’s my favorite kind of pie?  I love my mom’s strawberry rhubarb pie… and my mom makes pretty awesome pies, but my aunt’s french chocolate silk pie is a close second (although I need to try it again).

This morning I taught Body Combat… always such a sweaty good time, then I had a midwife appointment.  How am I 26 weeks along already?  Geez.  Hunter’s down for a nap so I’m off to sew a bit!

Have a great day!

Heather

I was sent a free copy of this book from the publisher to review.  All opinions are, of course, my own.