Chai Spice Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is always a hit with my family at Thanksgiving.  This year I decided to change things up a little from the standard pumpkin pie recipe and make these chai spice pumpkin pies.

Ingredients

1 - 15 ounce can 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 - 12 ounce can Evaporated Milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
2 Frozen, unbaked 9-inch traditional pie crusts

Directions

Preheat oven to 425℉.  Beat eggs and stir into pumpkin.  Gradually stir in milk.  Finally add dry ingredients and whisk all ingredients together using a large hand whisk.  Pour into frozen pie crusts.  Bake at 425℉ for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350℉ and bake for 30 minutes more or until tester inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks.

Let's get started.

We start with a 15 ounce can of Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin.

Two large eggs in a glass bowl.

Gently beat the eggs.

Add the pumpkin.

Combine the egg and pumpkin.

A 12 ounce can of evaporated milk.

Add the entire contents of the can of evaporated milk to the pumpkin and egg mixture.

Thoroughly whisk the milk into the mix.

Here, the dry ingredients - sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground cardamom.

Sugar and spices thoroughly mixed together.

Add sugar and spice mix to wet ingredients.

Whisk again so that everything is now fully incorporated.

I used these frozen pie crusts from Pillsbury Pet-Ritz.  These are traditional sized pie crusts.  One package of two crusts will give you two lovely traditional pies.  I love these pie crusts.  They are really delicious.  I have tried to make on my own pie crusts many times over the years but I've never mastered the art of making good pie crusts.  So that is why I use these most delicious crusts from Pillsbury.

Here is one of the pie crusts from the package.  They are perfectly formed and a huge time saver when working in the kitchen.  For pumpkin pie, you do not need to thaw the crust.  You simply take it straight from the freezer and put in your pie filling and put it in the oven.

Here are our two chai spice pumpkin pies on a baking sheet and ready for the oven.

A little while later, here are our pies cooling on the gas range top.  That is one of the great things about having a gas range.  The burner grates can serve as cooling racks.  One thing I would strongly suggest when cooking these pies is to make a wash for the crusts and to brush it on several times during the cooking.  Take one egg white and add a tablespoon of water to it and whisk briskly.  Using a pastry brush, go around the outside edge of both pie crusts.  Do this three times during the 30 minute cooking time.  It gives the crust a nice sheen and it keeps it cool so it does not overcook and burn.

Let the pies cool for about 2 hours.

Finally, slice and plate your servings.  Decorate your plates to your liking.  In this picture I placed one slice of pie, off-center, and then added a few dollops of whipped cream on the side and sprinkled each dollop of whipped cream with ground cinnamon.  Then go over the whole plate with a little ground ginger.  A little secret - as the pies cool, the filling will separate slightly from the crust right at the edge.  A little whipped cream along that separation is a way to cover this up and add a little extra flare to your presentation.