Passed down from generation to generation, this time honored pumpkin pie is a highly anticipated dessert every Thanksgiving.

Growing up, my mother would make this pumpkin pie recipe every year. It was made with the same Crisco-based crust and plenty of fresh pumpkin puree—a positively perfect pumpkin pie in every way. But since I’ve inherited this family recipe, I decided to put my own spin on this traditional pie.

In my family’s original recipe, they used evaporated milk and granulated sugar for the custard. I swapped these two ingredients out for heavy cream and brown sugar, creating a sweeter and richer pumpkin custard. Along with making the most unctuous pumpkin pie filling, I also replaced the standard pie crust with a spicy gingerbread cookie crust. The results are simply delicious and will be welcomed at every Thanksgiving henceforth.

Mom’s Pumpkin Pie 2.0

*Makes one 9” pie

Pumpkin Custard

1 ½ cup pumpkin puree

½ cup light brown sugar

½ tsp ground ginger

1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ grated nutmeg

3 large eggs, beaten

1 ¼ cup whole milk

1 ½ cup heavy cream

Gingerbread Cookie Crust 

2 cups gingerbread cookie crumbs about 250 grams worth of cookies

6 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

¼ tsp kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the pie crust, add the gingerbread cookies to a food processor to make the cookie crumbs. Add the salt and melted butter, mix until the cookie crumbs resemble wet sand. 

Press the cookie crumbs in the pie plate by starting with the bottom of the crust and build up the sides of the pie plate. You need to make sure the crumbs are firmly pressed together and there are no cracks in the crust. 

Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 8 minutes, cool the crust completely before filling with the pumpkin custard. The crust could even be made a day in advance if needed. 

In a blender, combine all the pumpkin custard ingredients. Blend the pumpkin filling on the medium speed setting on your blend. Blend until everything is completely incorporated and you get a lovely orange colored custard. 

Place your pre-made gingerbread cookie crust on a rimmed baking sheet and pour the pumpkin custard into the pie crust. Make sure not to overfill the pie crust, you want the liquid custard to be slightly below the level of the top part of the crust. As it bakes the custard will poof slightly and if you overfill it, it might leak out. But that’s the reason for the cookie sheet, just in case some of your custard decided to escape. 

Give the baking sheet a slight jiggle from side to side to release some of the air bubbles caused from blending the custard. Sprinkle the top of the pie with cinnamon before carefully placing it into your preheated oven. 

Bake for about 40-50 minutes, checking after the pie has been baking for 30 minutes. The pie is baked when the custard has set on the sides and has a slight jiggle in the middle. 

Turn off the oven and let cool in the oven with the door cracked open for 10 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack. Once cooled to room temperature, wrap the pie with cling film and store in the fridge to chill. 

Serve your pumpkin pie with plenty of whipped cream and/ or cinnamon ice cream. 

*Notes:

It is very important to start checking the pie after 30 minutes but realistically you should need to bake it for 40-50 minutes. But it’s better to double check a pumpkin pie; it can easily go from baked to overbaked, which will lead to cracking on the pie’s custardy surface. 

This pumpkin pie calls for fresh pumpkin puree. But if you didn’t have the chance to make your own, you can easily use a can of Libby’s Pumpkin instead. 

For the gingerbread cookie crust, unfortunately I had to use store bought gingerbread cookies. The store bought actually provided a nice crispy cookie crust and paired with the pumpkin custard beautifully. Not to mention it’s convenient and is a very accessible alternative. It doesn’t matter what brand just make sure it’s a gingerbread cookie with no icing. The icing makes the crust too sweet and gives it the wrong texture.