11.15.2012

Pumpkin Pie with Chocolate Gingersnap Crust and Salted Dark Caramel Sauce

This 'aint your Grandma's classic pumpkin pie.
This is the next level.
The crust? Wonderful flavor (especially for those who don't love piecrust) that gives the pie a unique twist.
The pie? Good, classic, perfect. 
And the sauce? I have all sorts of plans for the intense, rich leftovers.
Plans to inhale it into my face as soon as possible.
I combined and tweaked several different recipes and came up with this concoction.
Just make it this Thanksgiving. Seriously. Stop asking questions.


Pumpkin Pie Filling 

(via King Arthur)

1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 T flour
1/2 t salt
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
1/ 8 t ground black pepper
3 eggs
2 c pumpkin
1 1/4 c heavy cream

Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside. In mixer, beat eggs, pumpkin, and cream. Mix in dry ingredients. Refrigerate overnight to let flavors moosh together. (Yes, moosh).


Gingersnap Chocolate Crust

4 T melted butter
1 3/4 c gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/8 c brown sugar
1/8 c granulated sugar
3 t cocoa
1/2 t coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in pie pan.  If you use a standard 9" pan, there will be leftover pie filling. SO you may either use a deeper dish pie pan or have leftover filling to bake separately if you'd like. Add remaining ingredients into pan and mix with your hands. Press crumbs into bottom and sides of pan and bake 5 minutes.

Take crust out and increase oven to 400 degrees. Pour in pie filling and bake pie for about 45 minutes. You only want to bake until the edges are set about 2" in. The center will be wobbly, and this is OK. Embrace the wobbliness. It will continue to firm up after you take it out of the oven, nor does it crack this way. And it stays nice and creamy.
Now the crust is tricky, in that it is naturally darker than your standard graham cracker crust, so it's harder to gauge when it's possibly burning. During the last ten minutes of baking, I cut some curved foil strips to place on top of the perimeter of the pie to cover the crust and prevent burning. Non-ghetto pie crust covers do exist (aluminum, silicone, etc.) , but I have yet to go out and purchase one...stocking stuffers anyone? Please?

Salted Dark Caramel Sauce

1 c sugar
6 T unsalted butter
1/2 c + 2 T heavy cream
1 t coarse salt
1 t vanilla extract

I am kidding you not, this is the best part of the pie. I'm obsessed. I have plans to dip sliced apples in the leftovers, pour it on ice cream, make milkshakes, with pretzels, whatever mode of transportation I can use to get it in my face, I'll take it. This isn't a sugary sweet artificial-tasting bottled caramel sauce. This is intense, deep, dark, rich caramel. It almost tastes like the sugar was burnt, but it's just the richness speaking.
Heat sugar over low-medium heat in a heavy-bottom pan, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon (without thinking, I used a plastic spoon and the plastic spoon became one with the sugar. RIP plastic spoon). The sugar will slowly start to melt, keep cooking and stirring until completely liquified and it's a copper color.
Add in butter, stir until completely melted.
Take pan off the heat and pour in cream. It will bubble up, so keep stirring until mixed well.
After it's all creamy and thick and a beautiful dark amber color, add the salt and vanilla.
Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Whipped Cream


1 c cold heavy whipping cream
sugar to taste (2-3 T)
1/2 t vanilla extract

Beat whipping cream with mixer, add in sugar and vanilla.
Beat 2-3 minutes until soft peaks form.

Let's just say several people had seconds.

One of the projects I did was our centerpiece pumpkins. Carly and I wanted to bypass the usual cornucopia Thanksgiving theme and colors, so she actually had this amazing idea to spray paint pumpkins. Genius. We both were on the same page with the Little Boo pumpkins, otherwise known as the mini white pumpkins. You had me at 'Little Boo'.
I really wanted a glitzy one, so I picked out a larger one and bought some silver glitter. Carly already had gold spray paint, and Aubrey had spray adhesive for the glittery one.
I sprayed the Little Boo ones gold, then coated the larger pumpkin with the spray adhesive and shook glitter all over it. They turned out darling, and really gave our table a simple and elegant holiday feel.


ANNNNDDDD..... we have a winner to our Sur La Table Giveaway! CLICK HERE to see who!!


Pumpkin Pie with Chocolate Gingersnap Crust and Salted Dark Caramel Sauce
Pumpkin Pie Filling
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 T flour
1/2 t salt
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
1/ 8 t ground black pepper
3 eggs
2 c pumpkin
1 1/4 c heavy cream
Pumpkin Pie Filling
Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside. In mixer, beat eggs, pumpkin, and cream. Mix in dry ingredients. Refrigerate overnight to let flavors moosh together. (Yes, moosh).
Gingersnap Chocolate Crust
4 T melted butter
1 3/4 c gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/8 c brown sugar
1/8 c granulated sugar
3 t cocoa
1/2 t coarse salt
Gingersnap Chocolate Crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in pie pan.  If you use a standard 9" pan, there will be leftover pie filling. SO you may either use a deeper dish pie pan or have leftover filling to bake separately if you'd like. Add remaining ingredients into pan and mix with your hands. Press crumbs into bottom and sides of pan and bake 5 minutes.
Take crust out and increase oven to 400 degrees. Pour in pie filling and bake pie for about 45 minutes. You only want to bake until the edges are set about 2" in. The center will be wobbly, and this is OK. Embrace the wobbliness. It will continue to firm up after you take it out of the oven, nor does it crack this way. And it stays nice and creamy.
Now the crust is tricky, in that it is naturally darker than your standard graham cracker crust, so it's harder to gauge when it's possibly burning. During the last ten minutes of baking, I cut some curved foil strips to place on top of the perimeter of the pie to cover the crust and prevent burning. Non-ghetto pie crust covers do exist (aluminum, silicone, etc.) , but I have yet to go out and purchase one...stocking stuffers anyone? Please?
Salted dark caramel sauce
1 c sugar
6 T unsalted butter
1/2 c + 2 T heavy cream
1 t coarse salt
1 t vanilla extract
Salted Dark Caramel Sauce
I am kidding you not, this is the best part of the pie. I'm obsessed. I have plans to dip sliced apples in the leftovers, pour it on ice cream, make milkshakes, with pretzels, whatever mode of transportation I can use to get it in my face, I'll take it. This isn't a sugary sweet artificial-tasting bottled caramel sauce. This is intense, deep, dark, rich caramel. It almost tastes like the sugar was burnt, but it's just the richness speaking.
Heat sugar over low-medium heat in a heavy-bottom pan, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon (without thinking, I used a plastic spoon and the plastic spoon became one with the sugar. RIP plastic spoon). The sugar will slowly start to melt, keep cooking and stirring until completely liquified and it's a copper color.
Add in butter, stir until completely melted.
Take pan off the heat and pour in cream. It will bubble up, so keep stirring until mixed well.
After it's all creamy and thick and a beautiful dark amber color, add the salt and vanilla.
Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
Whipped Cream
1 c cold heavy whipping cream
sugar to taste (2-3 T)
1/2 t vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
Beat whipping cream with mixer, add in sugar and vanilla.
Beat 2-3 minutes until soft peaks form.

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1 comment:

  1. Stephanie - I made this for Thanksgiving and it was SOOOO good. We made like a gazillion pies, but this one was the first one gone and the most talked about! I will be making this for many more Thanksgivings to come!!! Great recipe!

    ReplyDelete

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