Yes, it is entirely the wrong time of year for pumpkin pie. After all, fall doesn’t even start for another month, and Thanksgiving is two months beyond that! I say, what of it? Okay, yes, I’m not just being odd, there is a a real reason you’re getting a pumpkin pie recipe in August: my family is moving very soon and I have to use up my stores in the freezer. That means that the pumpkin puree that I made after Halloween and didn’t get to use for Thanksgiving needs to be used up or thrown out. I voted for pie over throwing it out, so here you go! This ended up in a graham cracker crust for a similar reason, namely, that I had a premade one in my pantry that probably wouldn’t have survived the trip very well, so I wanted to use it up. The traditional crust is my least-favorite part of pumpkin pie anyway (I usually eat the custard out of it and toss the crust, in fact) and this graham cracker crust is much nicer, it turns out.

This pie turned out very well after only one try, I’m happy to say :-). If you don’t use the recipe until November I’ll understand, but you’ll be missing out on much tastiness! If you are making your own pumpkin puree (recommended), try to get a sugar pie pumpkin–they’re smaller and sweeter than standard large ones. However, the standard large ones will yield decent pumpkin puree too.

Natural Sugar Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (see below for instructions)
• 1  9 inch deep-dish graham cracker crust (you can make it with sugar-free graham crackers or buy it–Whole Foods carries a natural sugar version)
• 1 – 1.5 tsp cinnamon, according to taste (my husband likes a lot of cinnamon, but most folks like a little less)
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 TBS melted butter
• 3/4 cup agave nectar
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk (I use 1%)
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Make the pumpkin puree. You can buy canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, that already has stuff added), but it won’t be as good. To make it fresh: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the pumpkin in half (or quarters if it is huge and won’t fit in any of your pans in halves) and place the pieces face down in a baking dish (I often use a 9X13). Add some water to keep it moist, about half an inch. Bake for 45 minutes or until a fork goes into the flesh easily. Remove from the oven and let it cool enough to handle easily. Scrape the soft pumpkin into a blender or food processor and give it a whirl until pureed. You’ll need about 2 cups of that puree for this pie. This can now be used or frozen.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pre-bake the graham cracker crust for 5 minutes, then remove and let cool some. Leave the oven on.

3. While you’re prebaking the crust, mix together the pumpkin puree, spices, and salt. Add the eggs, melted butter, agave nectar, milk and cream and mix well.

4. Pour filling into the prebaked crust. If you have too much filling you can pour the rest into a little oven-safe dish and bake it up as a custard–it will be a tasty little treat too :D. Some premade crusts are larger than others, so you may end up with a little extra.

5. Bake 50-65 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. It won’t look entirely gelled up or brown all the way across–custard fillings shouldn’t (if it is, it’s overdone). Remove from oven and let cool at least to room temperature before serving, though I usually make it ahead and store it in the fridge a bit (up to 24 hours). You cannot eat this hot, it must be cooled before you cut it, otherwise it’ll just get gross (and burn your mouth badly). This is best served with fresh whipping cream (Cool Whip, sugar free or otherwise, is not so nice). Enjoy!