Pumpkin Pie

For Andrew's birthday, he requested a pumpkin pie, which is his favorite.  

I usually do not bake for his birthday, not since the first year we were dating anyway!  That year I decided to make him a chocolate cake.  It was a hilarious disaster.  So much of a disaster, in fact, that he's never asked me to bake for him since.

Let's just say that baking is not my thing.  I love to cook!  But my attempts at baking haven't proven to be the most successful.

This year, however, I rose to the challenge.

Making a pie from scratch was on my life list.  Since I wrote that list, I have dabbled a little in pie making.  But I've never had the nerve to make my own crust.  

My cousin recently came to our house for dinner, and she brought along the best apple pie.  When I asked her about the crust, she shared with me this recipe that she uses, which sounded completely non-threatening, so I decided to go for it.  

This crust is super low maintenance and easy to make.  It's not the prettiest crust, but it tastes great.  I was a little nervous because I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and it still turned out great (excuse the horrible photos, it was at night and I was using my iPhone).  Hopefully, with some practice, I'll be able to make some nicely scalloped edges.

Ready for some filling!

I also used the pumpkin pie recipe on the same link, although I used canned pumpkin.  I do not, and likely will not ever, have the time or the interest to roast and puree my own pumpkin, and I'm okay with that!

Baking

For the sake of keeping it real, here's what my pie looked like when I pulled it out of the oven.  See my stab marks?  That's the result of jabbing a knife into the center multiple times to see if it was done.  Note to self...next time use a toothpick!

Yummy

The end result wasn't necessarily pretty, but it was delicious!  So delicious that last night my two year-old actually buried his face in his bowl and started licking it.  No joke.  And as for that crust?  It's a nice, flaky crust and much better than the store bought ones.  

Based on this experience, I'm no longer afraid of making pie!  In fact, I'm ready to start making all kinds of pie.  So if you have a good recipe, please pass it along!

xoxo