Thanksgiving is all about tradition. From the turkey to the cranberries, the menu for the holiday is usually as set in stone as you can get. Every year, though, I like to try to change up (at least) one little thing about my Thanksgiving dinner. And although people are often skeptical, me changing things up a bit has led to some new family favorites, that step in year after year as new traditions. This time around, I decided to try a new pumpkin pie recipe.
I know, I know. Pumpkin pie is right up there with turkey as THE food symbol of Thanksgiving. Why mess with a good thing, right? Well, it was totally worth it, and that’s why I messed with it! And, I didn’t mess with it too much. It’s still a fully recognizable pumpkin pie. No worries.
I’m not the only one changing things up at the Thanksgiving table, McCormick has recently launched their American Homemade campaign, where you can find both traditions and twists on those traditional flavors we love, all in one place! This month, it’s all about Thanksgiving, and you’ll find everything from Apple Sage Turkey Gravy and Beer Brined Turkey, to Curried Green Beans. Curry at Thanksgiving? Why not?
For my Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie twist, I started by pre-baking my crust. I went ahead and used store-bought pie crust, to save time, but if you feel like making your own, go for it. I lined my crust with some parchment paper and filled it with dried beans to use as pie weights.
Many times, you blind bake a crust like this when you’re going to add a custard or pudding filling to the crust that just needs to be refrigerated. Sometimes, though, giving the crust a start in the oven before baking it with the filling can help ward off the dreaded soggy crust that can occur when you add an especially wet filling to the mix. So, even though my pumpkin filling needed to be baked, the crust was going to spend a little while in the oven, and the beans were there to help keep that crust in place.
After the crust baked for about 30 minutes, I removed it from the oven and allowed it to cool. As it was cooling, I got going on my filling. The usual pumpkin pie suspects were added to the mix…canned pumpkin, eggs, sugar, a dab of flour, and a decent dose of some holiday favorites, McCormick Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Ginger, all of those warm, fall spices that sum up the perfect way to end a Thanksgiving meal.
Instead of the usual evaporated milk, though, I substituted some sour cream. My hope was that the sour cream would add a nice tang to it, and lighten up the consistency of the custard a bit.
I whisked together all of the ingredients and poured it into my baked pie crust.
At that point, I popped it into the oven for forty-five minutes, just until it was set.
The pie needs to cool completely before slicing into it, so make sure you make it a few hours before dinner time, or even the day before.
When it was time to serve things up, I whipped up some whipped cream and sugar and then folded some more sour cream into the mix.
The end result was, indeed, delicious! After a big, filling, hearty dinner, a lighter than air pumpkin pie was exactly what we needed. I really enjoyed this twist, as it just changed it up enough, in all the right ways, but still left that amazing pumpkin pie flavor we wanted on Thanksgiving. It wasn’t cloyingly sweet, because of the tang of the sour cream in both the pie custard and the whipped cream on top.
Can’t get enough of those homemade Thanksgiving flavors? McCormick can help! Check out their American Homemade page, and while you’re there, create your own Flavor Print profile, and McCormick will suggest recipes picked with just you, and your tastebuds, in mind!
SOUR CREAM PUMPKIN PIE
Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie – Cooking with McCormick
Recipe Type: Pie
Cuisine: Holiday
Author: Adapted from Williams-Sonoma
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
- Pie crust for a one crust pie, homemade or store-bought
- 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. McCormick ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. McCormick ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. McCormick ground ginger
- For the whipped cream topping:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Roll the pastry dough into a 13 inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate and press it gently into the pan. Trim the edges so there is some overhang, and crimp the edges. Freeze the pastry shell until firm, about 15-20 min.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400*F, and position the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Remove the pie plate from the freezer and line the pastry shell with parchment paper. Fill with dried beans or pie weights.
- Bake until the crust is set, about 15 minutes. Remove the beans/weights and paper. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack and allow the crust to cool completely.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325*F.
- In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, sour cream, sugar, eggs, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Whisk the mixture until it’s smooth. Pour the pumpkin filling into the baked pie dish.
- Bake until the filling is just set, about 45 minutes. If the crust starts to brown too much, cover the edges with aluminum foil. Transfer to a wire rack when baked, to cool completely.
- To make the topping: In a chilled bowl, beat the cream and sugar together with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold in the sour cream with a rubber spatula.
- Serve the whipped cream with the sliced pie and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, if desired.
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