Once every autumn, I make my husband's Grandma Ruth's Spicy Pumpkin Pie. It's a delightful change of pace from your run-of-the-mill pumpkin pie!
She called it spicy, but in modern terms, we'd simply call it spiced. It has double the amount of ginger than a usual pumpkin pie, and has ground mace instead of nutmeg!
I'm not generally a fan of pumpkin pie, but I really enjoy this different combination of spices. Although I associate pumpkin pie with Thanksgiving, but it's a tradition for many people at Christmas, and indeed any time in the fall!
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Ingredients
You see many of the usual pumpkin pie ingredients in this recipe. In addition to a change in spices, the other change is using regular milk instead of evaporated milk.
- Dark brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Flour
- Table salt
- Eggs
- Milk
- Pumpkin
- Butter
Dark brown sugar gives the filling a little more depth and flavor.
Flour thickens the pie. I haven't tried other thickeners. The pie would be runny without it.
Regular milk makes this easier to make, since you don't have to source a can of evaporated milk. I usually use 1% or 2% milk.
Use canned pumpkin, and not pumpkin pie filling or mix. Pumpkin pie filling already has spices and sugar added, and won't work well here.
Fun fact: canned pumpkin is made from a variety of pumpkin that's specifically raised to be canned, unlike the pumpkins you carve. That canned variety isn't attractive in the field and is sometimes called a squash. And indeed, big pumpkins are really just a variety of squash as well.
See the FAQ below for info about using fresh pumpkin.
Spices
There are spice blends that you can buy that are labeled pumpkin pie spice, but don't use them here!
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Mace
- Cloves
Cinnamon is usually the biggest spice in pumpkin pie.
This time, however, cinnamon shares the spotlight with ground ginger. This recipe uses twice the amount of ginger than some other pies do! Be sure your ginger is fragrant and fresh.
Mace is the layer that wraps the nutmeg seed. Mace is similar to nutmeg, but does indeed have a different flavor profile. Although you could use nutmeg as a substitute for mace, I recommend you don't skip it.
Ground cloves are your final spice. I usually have whole cloves which I grind.
Instructions
Time to make a pie! You can use a store-bought pie crust, or try making my Homemade Pie Crust recipe. Be sure it's a deep dish crust, or you won't have enough room for your pie filling.
After your pie crust is rolled out and in the pan, stick it in the fridge while you preheat the oven and make your filling.
- Stir together your sugars, flour, and salt. Use a whisk to beat in the eggs and milk. Once everything is uniform, add the pumpkin, melted butter, and spices. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the pumpkin filling into your prepared pie crust.
- Bake at 450F to start, and then turn down the heat to 350F. Cover the pie crust with a pie crust shield (affiliate link) if you're concerned it will brown too much.
- Bake until the pie is set. The center will wobble a little when you move the pie, but the edges will be set. The center will set the rest of the way as the pie cools.
Cool your pie for a couple of hours at room temperature, then refrigerate.
Hint: Checking to see how the pie wobbles makes sure it's not over- or under-baked. This also works for pecan pie and cheesecake. If there's sloshing under the surface, the pie isn't done. Most pie recipes say to insert a knife into the center, but I always have filling on a knife when I test that way, even when the pie is done.
Equipment
You'll want a deep dish pie plate (affiliate link) for this. A regular pie pan is not deep enough to hold all of the filling.
I grind my mace and cloves in my bullet blender (affiliate link). I prefer the whole spices in general because they taste fresher.
If you don't have a pie crust shield (affiliate link) already, you can use strips of aluminum foil and layer them over your crust edges.
I'm sure you already know, but a wire whisk (affiliate link) is your friend and blends eggs much better than anything else ever could. I personally love my Oxo brand one because it's easy to grip, but any whisk should work.
Storage
Store the pie, covered, in the fridge. Top it with whipped cream to serve. If you (and your guests) won't eat the whole pie at once, I recommend topping the pie one slice at a time.
Top Tip
Your pie is only going to taste as good as your spices smell! Be sure that your spices are fresh and fragrant.
FAQ
Your pumpkin pie is done when the edges look set, but the center still wobbles a bit when the pie is jostled. The pie will continue to bake and firm up for a few minutes after you remove the pie from the oven. (This is the same as when I bake cheesecake and pecan pie.)
If the pie sloshes under the surface, it's not done.
Often, pie recipes tell you that a knife inserted into the center will come out clean. I find that done or not, I always have residue on my knife. That's why I prefer the method above.
Yes! This recipe takes fresh milk that you'd put in cereal. It's perfect if you don't have a can of evaporated milk (or as my great-grandma always called it, PET milk).
I would not recommend a direct substitute, though, as they have a different consistency. Follow this recipe for best results.
Even if you cook a fresh pumpkin, it will tend to be watery and thin, and often stringy. This is true even of smaller pie pumpkins that are better for eating. If you have fresh pumpkin, you will need to cook it down to get it to the same thick consistency of canned pumpkin, and may also need to blend it to smooth it out.
More great pies
Other holiday treats
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📖 Recipe
Grandma Ruth's Spicy Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch deep dish pie shell (unbaked)
- ½ cup dark brown sugar (100 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 2 tablespoons flour (20 grams)
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup milk (227 grams)
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree (15 ounce can)
- 2 tablespoons butter (28 grams; melted)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (ground)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
- ¼ teaspoon mace (ground)
- ¼ teaspoon cloves (ground)
- whipped cream (for topping)
Instructions
- If you haven't already, roll out your pie crust and fit it into your deep dish pan. Chill the pie crust while you make the filling. Preheat your oven to 450F.
- In a large bowl, use a wire whisk (affiliate link) to mix together the sugars, flour, and salt.
- Add the milk and eggs, and whisk well to combine.
- Add the pumpkin, melted butter, and spices. Whisk well to combine.
- Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the pie crust.
- Bake at 450F for 15 minutes.
- Then, reduce the oven temperature to 350F and bake for an additional 45 minutes.
- The pie is done when the edges are set, but the center wiggles a little. It will firm up as it cools.
- Cool completely at room temperature. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Top with whipped cream.
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