Looking for a delicious twist on an old tradition? Pumpkin Pie with Oat-Pecan Crust has a creamy pumpkin filling with a nutty, unique crust.
Did you know that it rained in Illinois this summer? It rained a lot.
Before you shrug and say, ‘so what?’, trust me, it’s a big deal.
Illinois, as it so happens, is Linus’ wonderland. That one state is one super-huge pumpkin patch, producing about 90% of the country’s sugar pumpkins, which just happen to be what are used to make the filling that goes into our favorite Thanksgiving pie.
And, much of those massive pumpkin patches are, apparently, mush because of those rains I mentioned.
What does that mean? Well, it means that a can of pure pumpkin purée might be a little higher than it was last year. I can handle that. I’ll pay a bit more if I can still get myself a slice (or three) of pumpkin pie.
More importantly, however, it means that when that little spot on the stores’ shelves reserved for pumpkin are empty, there’s a good chance they won’t be filled again because there won’t be any more pumpkin to fill them with.
Let the hoarding begin.
Table of Contents
The Process
The November issue of Country Living offers up a massive Thanksgiving dinner, which includes 12 different pies. I’d love to make every one of them (and you will see several this month), but I just had to start with the pumpkin pie because that’s where my love lies.
The crust; ah, the crust. Instead of that finicky, high maintenance basic pie crust, I was able to take the easy route by grinding up pecans and oats along with some butter, salt, sugar and butter to make a flour-free crust. I pressed it in the pan, baked it and was ready to pour in my filling.
It was a much easier process.
The Verdict
The pie is very good. The filling is smooth, perfectly spiced and delicious. The crust is … well, odd. I had to make sure that the pie was well refrigerated when I served it otherwise the crust was too soft and wouldn’t stay together. It may have been that my pecans had more oil than others, but even going into the pan it was very loose and sticky.
The flavor, however, is good. I liked the combination of nuts and pumpkin very much and this pie made a spectacular presentation, even though I didn’t use candied pecans.
What I’d Do Different Next Time
I’d cut the amount of pecans to 1 3/4 cups.
The Recipe
Pumpkin Pie with Oat-Pecan Crust
Ingredients
- 2 cups pecans
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg white
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch ground cloves
- Candied pecans, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast pecans and oats on a baking sheet until golden and fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes; cool.
- Process pecans, oats, butter, granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely ground, 2 to 4 minutes. Press mixture in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze 15 minutes. Bake, on a baking sheet, until set, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a rack.
- Whisk together pumpkin , cream, brown sugar, milk, eggs, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Pour into crust and bake until filling is set, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack. Chill at least 2 hours.
- Serve topped with candied pecans.
Notes
Here are some other great pumpkin recipes to try out:
