As many of us are coming down from a family, friends, and food-packed Thankgiving high, it occured to me that the pumpkin pie is often a highlight, and it only comes around once a year.
But it doesn’t have to.
In fact, I’ve often thought my crustless pumpkin pie recipe was easy enough for a child to make, so why not break it out on a random Monday night? This year, I decided to put the recipe, and my boys (eight and five), to the test. They were willing guinea pigs. I think they love pumpkin pie as much as their mom. The kid-friendliest pumpkin pie probably wouldn’t involve the oven, but we like our pumpkin pie custardy and cooked around here. Aren’t experiments more fun with an element of danger?
I got out the ingredients, measuring cups, and spoons. They read the recipe, measured the ingredients, put things in the blender, poured into the pie plate and an extra ramekin, put them in the oven, took them out of the oven, and tested for doneness. Really, all I did was keep them on task and mediate whose turn it was to measure out which ingredient. The pies turned out beautifully. I guess it’s time to pass the torch to the next generation.
Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Serves 1 to 8, depending on your definition of single serving. This usually makes more than enough for a pie plate. I fill a ramekin or two with the overflow for individual pies, which the boys love.
1 15-ounce can or about 2 cups roasted pumpkin or winter squash
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons butter, melted then cooled
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch pie plate. Dump all the ingredients in the blender, mix, pour, and bake about an hour, till the center is set. Chill. Top with whipped cream. Ta-da!
