Pumpkin pie is a holiday staple. My grandma made the same pumpkin pie every year, the same exact recipe every year. Her pumpkin pie is a family favorite and one of her most requested desserts and loved by my husband. With a subtle smooth pumpkin spice, it’s the perfect soft creamy pumpkin pie ever made.
The Pumpkin
There are two ways you can get your pumpkin puree for the pie filling.
Roast your own. You can cut a small pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and roast it in the oven until it’s fork tender. Then scoop out the pumpkin flesh and puree it with a food processor or blender until it’s smooth.
You can buy it in a can. This is what I do! You can buy a can of pumpkin from any grocery store, during the holidays it’s usually stacked at the end of the aisle. Buyers beware, do not grab “pumpkin pie filling” just get the can that says “pumpkin” on it. The pumpkin pie filling comes flavored and sweetened, so you wouldn’t want to use that in this recipe below.
The Crust
You can make homemade crust or use store bought. There is no judgement here. I love this box of two pie crusts and I use both of them for this recipe so the crust is thick for the creamy pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Grandma Miller had a recipe that calls for cinnamon, dry ginger, mace, and nutmeg. You can now get cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in the pumpkin pie spice. I can never find mace, but if you can, add it in! If you’re making your own pumpkin pie spice, you will want to use 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of dry ginger and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg. Perfection
Grandma's Famous Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 2 Pie Crusts see blog notes
- 2 Eggs - beaten
- 15 oz Pumpkin Puree 1 ½ cup
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 ½ cups Whole Milk
- ½ tsp Vanilla
- 3 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
- ¼ tsp Dry Mace optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450F
- Roll your pie crust(s) and place inside of the pie pan, using a fork poke holes in the bottom of the crust, I do this on the first crust before placing the second crust on top and then again on the second crust. Place it in the refrigerator while you mix together the rest of the ingredients for the ultimate flaky pie crust.2 Pie Crusts
- In a large bowl, combine all of your ingredients and stir until combined evenly.15 oz Pumpkin Puree, ¾ cup Brown Sugar, 2 Eggs - beaten, 1 ½ cups Whole Milk, ½ tsp Vanilla, 3 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice, ½ tsp Salt, ¼ tsp Ground Cloves, ¼ tsp Dry Mace
- Take out your prepared pie crust and pour this mixture into the pie pan. For a double crust, I went around and pressed the crust into a ruffle edge making sure I sealed the two crusts together.
- Bake at 450F for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350F until the filling is firm, about 50 minutes. It should be firm but also jiggle ever so slightly it will confirm to firm up as it cools down. It should jiggle like firm jello.
Nutrition
Grandma Miller
This recipe is bittersweet, when I wrote it originally she was still alive, we said our goodbyes in 2023 and I miss her everyday and especially at Thanksgiving time.
Grandma Miller was one of my favorite cooks. She made everything by feeling or memory using very few recipes. I am forever thankful for her inspiration, you can read more about our story.
No family holiday or gathering would go without Grandma making something. The usual suspects were her baked beans and the most amazing Texas Sheet Cake for summer get-togethers. For Thanksgiving we always have pumpkin pie, soups and turkey left over pot pie. There is no way to explain it, her little kitchen was always full of warmth, love and something cooking on the stove.
Only after I turned 30, got married, and went to culinary school did she finally share her famous pumpkin pie recipe with me. This is one of the very few handwritten recipes she had (that we know of). I took a picture of it and immediately sent the photo to a shop on Etsy where I had a pie plate made with it copied onto the bottom it’s forever a piece of my kitchen. It makes the best Christmas present if you’re brainstorming.
Grateful for this recipe!
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