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What is the best part of Thanksgiving? The pie. What is the hardest part of Thanksgiving? Choosing which ones to make. Or, worse, to eat. While ‘having it all’ is a great mentality for that holiday, this little Praline Pumpkin Pie brings the best of both worlds into a single pie dish. With perfectly spiced pumpkin custard AND a sticky-sweet candied pecan topping, it’s hard to imagine ever going back to basics after you try this.
What Ingredients Do You Need for Praline Pumpkin Pie?
You’ll need:
- Your favorite pie crust. (I love this one: All-Butter Pie Crust.)
- Pumpkin puree. (Not pumpkin pie filling!)
- Brown sugar.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice.
- Evaporated milk.
- Eggs.
- Pecans.
- Some corn syrup.
Too many spices for you? You can go ahead and sub in a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice if you’d rather.
How Do You Make Praline Pumpkin Pie?
I know it’s easy to get scared away by an extra topping that’s candied, but I promise this one isn’t too much effort at all.
First, you want to blind-bake your crust. Some people don’t blind-bake crust for pumpkin pie, but I like the sturdier texture it gives the crust. If you’re normally not a blind-baker for custard pies, you can skip it if you really want to.
For the filling, simply whisk together the pumpkin, the eggs, the brown sugar, the evaporated milk, and the spices. Then just pour it into that crust and bake it until the center is no longer jiggly. No mixer needed! That oven time should take about 50 minutes.
Then it’s time for the topping:
But relax, you don’t have to do anything on the stovetop or pull out a candy thermometer. Just stir together the pecans, brown sugar, and corn syrup with a touch of salt and sprinkle it all over the pie filling. Pop it back in the oven for 15 minutes and candied magic happens.
By that time, the filling will have set into the perfect velvety pumpkin custard and the topping caramelizes into a sticky-sweet crunch. It’s not so hard that it has a complete candy crack… some of that brown sugar sauciness mingles with the pumpkin custard and it’s just a beautiful thing. Enjoy!
Praline Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie crust
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the praline topping:
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon light or dark corn syrup
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Line a pie pan with your crust and flute or crimp edges as desired. Line crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove paper and pie weights. Prick bottom of crust with fork all over to create vents for steam. Return to oven until bottom is just starting to brown, 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside while you work on the filling:
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, salt, evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla.
- Pour into warm pie crust and bake until the center is no longer jiggly, about 50 minutes. If edges are browning too quickly, cover with foil.
- While pie bakes, make the topping:
- In a small bowl, stir together pecans, brown sugar, salt, and corn syrup until well combined.
- Sprinkle topping over pie and return pie to oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and set on a wire rack to cool. Let rest at least 2 hours before serving. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Spend with Pennies.