Cheer Up Pumpkin

Recently, I found myself in what I can only describe as a pit of despair. While residing in the aforementioned pit, I said to myself, "Well, how did I get here?" I said myself, "Am I right or am I wrong?" I said to myself, "My God, what have I done?!"

It was this line of inquiry that lead me to my latest Pie-tastic project: Cheer Up Pumpkin. I needed something comforting, something wholesome, something that will always bring a smile to your face. A great pumpkin pie is just that. It's also simple to make. Pumpkin was the first pie I ever made by myself; I was thirteen and my grandmother and I were alone for thanksgiving, I made 4 and gave 3 of them to my very appreciative friends.

No case of the blues is a match for Cheer Up Pumpkin. This is a great recipe and it rivals any pumpkin pie I've had in a restaurant. The spices and texture are perfect. Trust me, I've sampled a LOT of pumpkin pies in my day.

Recipe
Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool.

Purely for cuteness sake, I used a cookie cutter to cut out a little gingerbread-man shape out of pie crust. I placed it in the center of the pie and sprinkled a pinch of ground cloves over the top before baking. Not only did this pie live up to it's name and succeed in putting a smile on my face, it was quickly eaten up by my happy happy housemates.





*Recipe courtesy of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk