Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust
Not your average pumpkin pie. This features a spiced and flavourful gingersnap cookie crumb crust with candied pepitas adorning this delicious seasonal dessert.
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- Food processor
- 9 inch Pie plate or Tart pan
Ingredients
Gingersnap Cookie Crust
- 32 gingersnap cookies* (8.5 oz or 2 cups of cookie crumbs)
- ¼ cup butter, melted
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- ⅔ cup (110 g) brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- pinch of cloves
- pinch of ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups (11 oz) pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tablespoons fancy molasses* or maple syrup
- ¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Candied Pepitas (optional)
- ½ cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Whipped Cream
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons icing sugar (granulated sugar works too)
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
Instructions
Gingersnap Cookie Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Roughly break up the cookies and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to process the cookies into coarse crumbs. Don't over-process, you want crumbs not a powder.
- Add melted butter and process until combined. Pour crumb mixture into a 9 inch pie plate or tart pan with a removable bottom. Press firmly into the pan, making sure to push the crumbs up the sides of the pan. Crumbs may seem too dry, but as long as you're able to press them into the pan and get them up the sides, don't worry! Add more melted butter if you are sure the crumbs are too dry but be careful - too much butter can make the crust too hard once cooked.
- Put the crust in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly while you prep the filling. Lower oven temperature to 325°F.
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- Whisk together the sugars, flour, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, molasses, and heavy cream. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Pour filling into baked crust, being careful not to overfill. If your filling is going to spill over the edge of the crust as you fill then leave the excess in the bowl. Bake at 325°F for 60-65 minutes or until the centre is set. Filling will look puffed and jiggle slightly but it will not look loose or liquidy. Let cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, move to the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Candied Pepitas (if making)
- Put granulated sugar and raw pepitas into a small saucepan over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar melts and pepitas pop and begin to brown. Remove from heat and stir in salt and cinnamon. Pour onto a plate or a piece of parchment paper to cool.
Whipped Cream
- Place a bowl and the beaters from an electric mixer in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Pour heavy cream into the chilled bowl along with the icing sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until the cream is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes.
- To serve, cut pie into slices of desired size and top with whipped cream and candied pepitas.
Notes
- Gingersnap cookies - I use President's Choice English-style gingersnap. They're a dry, crisp cookie with a lot of spicy ginger flavour.
- Molasses - If you don't have fancy molasses and want to substitute "cooking" or "blackstrap", reduce the amount to 1 or 1 1/2 Tablespoons.
- If you can't bring yourself to make the candied pepitas, garnish your pie with roasted salted pepitas instead. They will still look really pretty and provide a satisfying crunch.