Pumpkin Pie and Whole Wheat Press-In Crust

I am always adapting and tinkering with my favorite recipes. Here's the latest version of an old favorite. You can really taste the pumpkin because it is not overly sweet. We like to eat it for dinner.

Ingredients and instructions for 1 pie (9-10 inch) or 3 mini pies (6 inch)

Pie crust:

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup corn oil
6 Tbs white or brown sugar (the sugar is the glue holding the crust together)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (less if using regular salt or white flour)

Mix ingredients with fingers so it is pebbly. Press into pie pan with fingers. Prick dough on the pan bottom with a fork. It can be sticky and hard to handle but hang in there, it will be delicious.

Bake at 350° F for 5-10 minutes. Then let it cool.

Tip from Once Upon a Chef Jenn Segal: Press the crust into the bottom of the pan with the back of a measuring cup.  This will make sure the crust is in the pan nice and firm, so that it won't fall apart when you cut this for serving.

Pie filling:

1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/8 cup of dark molasses
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (half if using regular salt)
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I used freshly finely grated frozen ginger root)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 small can of pumpkin puree (15 oz.)
1 can of evaporated milk (12 fl. oz.)

Mix sugar, dark molasses, cinnamon, salt, ginger, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl. Whisk in pumpkin puree and evaporated milk. 

Pour into the pre-baked, cooled pie shells.

Bake pie in preheated 425° F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 more minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Some bakers use sweetened condensed milk so I tried it but I discovered that it is cloyingly sweet and drowns out the pumpkin taste compared to a pie made with evaporated milk and 1/4 cup sugar. The evaporated milk pumpkin pie is much more like Indian Pudding and tastes like a food!