Photographed by Adam DeTour
Styled by Heather Chontos
From our November 2015 issue
Pumpkin Pie
Sara Ettinger warms up this silky holiday classic with a splash of bourbon.
2 unbaked piecrusts
⅔ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 pinch each of salt, allspice, and black
or white pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup cream
⅔ cup half & half
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons bourbon
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out one of the piecrusts and line your pie dish with it.
In a medium-size bowl, stir together the sugars, flour, salt, allspice, pepper, ginger, and nutmeg. In large bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, cream, half & half, egg, bourbon, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together fully. Pour into piecrust.
To make a decorative edge like the leaf trim on our cover pie, you will need small (1 to 1½-inch) cookie cutters. Roll out the remaining piecrust to ⅛-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. With a sharp knife, score pastry to create leaf veins. Brush bottom of each leaf lightly with water. Place the leaves, overlapping slightly, around the crust edge and press gently to secure. Cover with foil to protect the edges from overbrowning. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until just set in center.
Apple Cranberry Pie
Tart cranberries add a festive twist to traditional apple pie.
2 unbaked piecrusts
5 cups apple slices
1½ cups cranberries
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
¾ cup sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the crusts and line pie dish with it. The dough should extend beyond the rim of the pie dish by about half an inch.
To make the filling: Toss together the apples, cranberries, and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Add the sugar mixture to the fruit and toss to coat. Pour the filling into the piecrust.
To make the lattice-top crust: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the second piecrust so it is about 3 inches beyond the diameter of the pie dish. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the crust into even strips, roughly ½-inch to ¾-inch wide. Lay half the strips horizontally over the filling, leaving about ½-inch to ¾-inch between them. Gently fold every other strip back on itself, a little past the center. Take the longest remaining strip and lay it across the center of the pie, perpendicular to the first layer of strips. Unfold the folded strips on top of the new strip, Now take the parallel strips that are running underneath the perpendicular strip and fold them back. Lay down a second perpendicular strip of dough next to the first strip, leaving about ½-inch to ¾-inch between them. Unfold the folded parallel strips. Continue the process until all the strips are used and the pie is covered. Trim the edges of the strips so they are flush with the edge of the pie dish. Fold the rim of the shell over the edge of the lattice strips and crimp to secure. (Are you lost? Don’t despair! It’s actually as easy as, well, pie, as numerous online videos can attest. Bake for 50 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
