I was never a fan of dressing up for Halloween, even as a kid. I looked forward to seeing what everyone else dressed up as, but I never enjoyed it myself.
When my kids were growing up and they had a Halloween day parade at their school, I used to marvel at some of the costumes the other kids would wear. Some mothers were so creative, I still remember them today. Children were dressed up as dice, m&m’s, old men or women, and lollipops, to name a few. These costumes were all made by hand and they amazed me! I would admire creative mothers because my kids were not so fortunate in that way. My boys got store-bought costumes, but I know they were just as happy.
My kids have not celebrated Halloween in a very long time, so I miss those days. It was fun to watch all the kids parade around so proudly in their costumes. I live on a short street, nestled between two larger ones, so some years we would get a lot of trick or treaters, other years not so much. Lately, I am sorry to say if I just get a handful if I am lucky. Despite this, I still have that bowl of candy ready just in case, and I always will.
Even when we grow older, we crave sweets around halloween time. Pumpkin pie is my husband’s absolute favorite sweet treat. I never made him one, because all the recipes I came across used canned pumpkin. I rarely use anything in a can unless I have to. Using canned pumpkin just wasn’t going to happen, so I told him he would never get pumpkin pie from me. I don’t know why it has taken me this long to figure out that you can roast a pumpkin like you would butternut squash. Now that I have come up with this recipe, he is ecstatic. When I finally made one, he had a slice for breakfast and dessert almost every day.
In keeping with Halloween tradition, I decided to make one with fresh pumpkin. I am really happy with the results. This pie has a beautiful consistency. It is creamy, with all those savory fall spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. They complement the roasted pumpkin perfectly. The reason I roasted the pumpkin flesh side up was to give it a caramelized flavor that is rich in sweetness.
This recipe will serve 8 people who will want to treat themselves to this perfect pumpkin pie year-round!
FYI: I doubled the recipe to make 2 pies, that is why there is so much batter in the pictures!
Ingredients for Homemade Fresh Pumpkin Pie:
1 deep dish pie shell
2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 400°F
Cut a medium sized pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds.
Lay the pumpkin halves flesh side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Cook pumpkin for 35-45 minutes.
Scoop out flesh, enough for 2 cups.
In a large bowl, beat the pumpkin, evaporated milk, and eggs.
Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.
Pour into pie crust and bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted about 1 inch comes out clean.
It’s that simple!
Happy Halloween!
