Authentic Pumpkin Pie

It has been...a hotttttttt second since my last blog post. October went and gone TOO fast! I coordinated my very first wedding and to define that experience, whew, happy insanity is a pretty much sums that up. 

But I'm back! We back! This is exciting because I looooooove pumpkin. Yes I am that basic gal. Always have been. My friend bought me a "pumpkin spice everything" top and I probably wear it way more often much than I should..

But any who! Today we makin' authentic pumpkin pie y'all! Authentic you ask? YES AUTHENTIC. FROM A REAL PUMPKIN. When my boyfriend said.."I'm gonna make a pumpkin pie tonight. With an actual pumpkin." My emotions were everywhere! I was skeptical at first cause my lazy self was like.. um that sounds like hella a lot of work. But then my pumpkin loving self was like...UM WOW, YES. 

So we went to publix, got us a lil' punkin', and it was so easy!! I was amazed! Takes time to cool (2 hours), but only less than 10 ingredients. In my opinion, I think letting it sit in the fridge for at least a day or 2, makes it that much better. So if you want to make this for Thanksgiving dinner, I would def suggest making it a day or 2 before. The flavors just mold and come together and its magic.

You'll need:

- Pie Crust

- Pecan Pralines (we used that for one pie, and cinnamon crusted almonds on another, both are bomb)

- Ginger

- Nutmeg

- Ground Cinnamon

- Ground Cloves

- Vanilla Extract

- Sweetened Condensed Milk

And fun fact! We did everything to taste! But I'll leave the video my boyfriend got the recipe from just in case you're an over achiever :) 

First, comes the hardest part of the whole process -- cutting up the pumpkin.

In the video, he uses a bigger pumpkin which is way easier than using a small one like we did. So if you can find a normal size pumpkin at your local pumpkin farm.. lol, I would definitely use that one.

- You're going to cut the pumpkin in half

- Take out the seeds, (do what ya like with them, roast them or throw them out) 

- Then cut it up into semi same chunks

- And then skin each chunk.

- And throw them in a bowl. (just to be organized)

After you've cut up the whole pumpkin, you're going to boil some water. We used a pretty big, to normal size, pot. And filled it up 3/4 of the way. 

Once the waters boiling you're going to put the chunks in the pot and add the dry spices. 

-nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, & cloves.-

-You let that settle, and simmer together for about 15-20 minutes

-Strain it, then add it into a mixer bowl. 

In the mixer bowl, 

You mix in the condensed milk, and about a tablespoon of the vanilla extract. 

~After you have your liquid, crush up your pralines or almonds, (we crushed it in a ziploc baggy) you can add a little crunch to your crust by sprinkling some praline dust on the bottom of the crust~

-Once you get a liquid/chunky consistency, you add it into your pie crust!

Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes and voila!!

When I tell you this was wellll worth it...

It was well worth it.

MAKE IT.

XO,

S.