A Traditional Farm Life - MeeMaw’s Pumpkin Pie

A Traditional Farm Life - MeeMaw’s Pumpkin Pie

By Shasta Hamilton

Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends!   Have you ever watched a boy make pumpkin pie?  I had the privilege of doing so this morning.

As I write it is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and this year we are baking the pies a day ahead.  (Last year, they took longer than expected Thanksgiving morning, making us late to the big Hamilton gathering.  After my husband received repeated hints regarding the correct time to arrive this year, I decided arriving on time with day-old pie was a win-win situation.)

We will be taking seven pies tomorrow:  three pumpkin, two apple, and two cherry.  When finalizing this over the phone with my mother-in-law, she commented, “You have MeeMaw’s pumpkin pie recipe, right?  She made the best pumpkin pies.”

My ears perked up, as I did not have this treasured family recipe in my recipe box.  MeeMaw was my husband’s beloved maternal grandmother, so I had my pen and paper ready when my mother-in-law came back to the phone—with an time-worn label from a can of Libby’s pumpkin, marked “MeeMaw.”   I transcribed the recipe over the phone and made a mental note to buy a can of Libby’s and compare.

As my 12-year-old son’s favorite pie just happens to be pumpkin, he quickly volunteered this morning to help make the pies.

We used MeeMaw’s method (hers was slightly different from today’s Libby’s label) when preparing the pie filling, mixing ingredients in the order listed.  We got out our largest stainless steel bowl and a whisk, and got started.

Because we had found earlier this week on a pumpkin pie trial in the Test Kitchen that this pie recipe makes more than our 9-inch pie pan could hold, we decided probably two 8-inch pans would be about right.  With this advance knowledge, we doubled the recipe for three 9-inch pies.

First came beating the eggs.  My son asked, “Do I beat them like scrambled eggs?”

“Yes,” I replied.

Next thing I knew the whisk was vigorously circling the bowl, and the eggs were lemon-colored in a matter of seconds. 

As I turned to get the sugar from the cabinet, I directed, “Go ahead and add the pumpkin.”

I turned just in time to see him give the can a hard shake to release the pumpkin—from about three feet above the mixing bowl.  The resulting splash of lemon-colored eggs up and out of the sides of the bowl is permanently etched in my memory.

The mess wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared, so we pushed on and added the sugar, salt, ground cinnamon and ginger.  After that was vigorously whisked, it was time to add the evaporated milk.

I got out the can opener and directed him to punch a hole in each side, one for the pouring of the milk, and the other to release the vacuum.  It was a teaching moment, as his first pouring hole was too small to allow much to come out. After it was enlarged, he lifted the can up and down—with a big grin and a playful look in his eyes--as the milk now flowed freely into the pumpkin mixture.

Taking no chances with Thanksgiving’s pumpkin pies, I divided the filling evenly between the three prepared pie shells.  It filled them perfectly—just full enough to carry them on their baking sheets to the oven without causing them to spill over the sides of the nicely fluted edges.

We followed the baking time as directed, switching baking pans top for bottom around halfway through.

All in all, we’re looking forward to a day full of food and family tomorrow.  There’s a chance, however, that my growing boys may be putting slightly greater emphasis on the former.  As we were preparing the pies this morning, my “bottomless pit” boy helper tentatively asked, “What’s my pie limit at Thanksgiving?”

MeeMaw’s Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs

1 can (15 oz.) Libby’s pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

1 can (12 oz.) Carnation evaporated

    milk

unbaked pastry for 2 (8-inch) single

    crust pies, or 1 (9-inch, 4-cup   

    volume) crust

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place pastry-lined pie pans on baking sheet.

2.  Combine filling ingredients in order listed:  Beat eggs, mix in pumpkin. Add sugar, salt and spices; mix well.  Slowly whisk in evaporated milk. 

3.  Divide filling between the two pans; carefully place in oven on rack near bottom to ensure a crisp bottom crust.

4.   Bake 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees.  Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes or until thin-bladed steak knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Yield: 2 (8-inch) pies.

Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton

Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in Enterprise, Kansas.  She and her husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled children.  You can reach The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com.