Cooking Lesson #530: Simple 5-Ingredient Pumpkin Pie

…from the Perspectives’ Holiday Kitchen

How you doin’? With everything going on in our hectic lives it’s important to work “smarter” and not “harder” as we approach the holidays. Let me go one step further… easier and less stressful without fear of failure.
 
This Easy Pumpkin Pie recipe works all year ‘round. This recipe was developed in the Perspectives test kitchen, by our top culinarian. We used a frozen pie crust, canned pumpkin purée, a can of private label sweetened condensed milk, a couple of eggs and some year-old pumpkin pie spice. Cost? This year, about $10... ouch!
 
Old-fashioned pumpkin pie recipes use two cups of cooked, puréed pulp from a sugar pumpkin that you must prepare, plus a long list of ingredients from heavy cream to sugar… and it takes a lot longer than this Easy version.
 
We encourage all of our restaurant clients struggling with high labor costs and a lack of baking experience in their kitchens to utilize recipes like this. It takes all of 5-minutes to mix it, pour it in the pie shell and pop it in the oven. Two hours after it comes out of the oven it is set and ready to serve for dessert. This makes it almost as easy as picking up an ordinary store-bought pie or one of those frozen, ready-to-bake pies and much less expensive (much better tasting, too)!
 
If you have any leftovers, which is doubtful, this pumpkin pie will still be fresh and wonderful for 4-days after being baked.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Bake time:  50 to 55 minutes
Yield:  1 9-inch pie (6 to 8 serves people)
 
Ingredients 
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie shell
 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425⁰F.
2. Arrange an oven rack in the lowest position.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin purée, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk until the mixture is well combined.
4. Pour the filing into the pie shell and bake for 15 minutes.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 350⁰F.
6. Bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175°F. If you don't have an instant-read thermometer, insert a knife into the middle of the pie. It should come out clean when the pie is finished.
7. Remove the pie to a wire rack and let it cool for two hours. Serve immediately thereafter or refrigerate until ready to serve.
8. Leftovers can be held covered with food film in the refrigerator for about four days.

​ChefSecret: You can use the same recipe to make sweet potato or yellow squash pies. Just pick up a can of either and keep the ratio of squash or sweet potato and sweetened condensed milk 1:1.

Quip of the Day:  My new fitness instructor asked me, “What kind of squat are you accustomed to doing?” I replied… “Diddly.” 😂
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com.  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. 

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