Baking Thanksgiving pumpkin pie

While buying your pie from FVCC’s Culinary Institute of Montana is your best bet for a slice of delicious pie (that also supports student scholarships!), it’s hard to beat homemade, especially if you get to make it with your loved ones. Here are the recipes we use to get our acclaimed pumpkin pie. 

FLAKY PIE DOUGH 

YIELD: 4 x 9 inch shells 

INGREDIENTS 

20 oz pastry flour 

½ t salt 

16 oz cold butter, grated 

8 oz ice water 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1 Grate the butter with a cheese grater, then store it in the freezer for 15 minutes. 

2 By hand, gently toss the cold butter with the flour and salt just to coat it and break up chunks. 3 Gently moisten the flour butter mixture with the ice water. Squeeze together until it wants to  hold its own shape, not overmixed, but enough that we can roll it out. 

4 Divide dough (5 oz for top and 7 oz for bottom), wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and chill at least  1 hour. 

5 Once chilled, roll dough from the middle outwards, rotating to keep it from sticking. Once it is  larger than your pie pan, fold dough in half and then transfer to the pan and unfold. Trim to 1”  overhang and crimp aggressively. 

6 Chill dough for 15 minutes in the freezer before baking with parchment and pie weights (I use  dry beans). Bake until just set, 15 minutes at 425 degrees. 

PUMPKIN PIE FILLING 

YIELD: filling for 1 x 9 inch pie

INGREDIENTS 

½ t cinnamon 

¼ t nutmeg 

¼ t ginger 

1/8 t cloves 

½ t salt 

5 oz brown sugar 

2 oz brandy 

15 oz pumpkin purée 

3 eggs 

7 oz half and half 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1 Sift together spices, salt and brown sugar and blend with brandy and purée.  

2 Mix together eggs and half and half and whisk into pumpkin mixture. 

3 Allow mixture to stand 30 minutes. Stir before use. 

4 Fill partly baked shell and bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  

5 A knife inserted 1” from the crust should come out clean, not from the middle. That middle will set as the pie cools. 

6 For best results, bake the day before and store in the fridge overnight. 

Dan Moe is a Chef Instructor at Flathead Valley Community College’s Culinary Institute of Montana. For more information, visit fvcc.edu/culinary.