Best Classic Pie
Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Pie  - (Reprinted by courtesy of The Kitchn)

Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold shortening
2 tablespoons cold butter
4 tablespoon ice cold water

For the filling:
15-oz. can pure pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 cups heavy cream
1 Tbs. cognac or brandy
3/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Make crust dough:
Mix flour with salt.  Cut in the shortening until the mixture looks like fine meal.  Cut in the butter coarsly–this makes a flaky crust.  Both of these cut steps can be done in a food processor by pulsing.  Sprinkle with water, mixing lightly with a fork until all the mixture is moistened.  Alternatively in a food prcessor, pulse until the dough starts to gather.  Bring dough together and press gently into a smooth ball.  Wrap ball in plastic wrap ad chill for half an hour.

Leaf design crust

Poke holes through the bttom of the crust with a fork.  Put in a sheet of parchment or wax paper on top of pie shell and weight it down with pie weights or beans (see picture).  Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes or until dough looks dry.  Let crust cool down completely before filling.

Make the filing and bake the pie:
Heat the oven to 325 F.  In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, eggs, egg yolk, cream and cognac.  (see picture)

In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, pepper and cloves.  Whisk the sugar mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust.  Bake until the pie is set around the outside but still slightly wet and jiggly in the center, about 1 hour.  The filling will continue to set as it cools.  Let the pie cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours (yeah, right!) and up to 2 days before serving.  I have let the pie cool for 30 minutes before digging in.  It can be hard to wait sometimes.

I would highly recomend baking and serving your pie in an Emile Henry Pie Dish to make a beautiful presentation for your family and guests.

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