Here’s a recipe for a less-sugary pumpkin pie, with just ½ cup maple syrup in the whole thing! In my mind, pumpkin pie is THE QUINTESSENTIAL THANKSGIVING DESSERT! It’s also kinda secretly healthy, because it’s essentially a pie made of vegetables.
Pecans replace half the butter in this recipe. Not only do pecans contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, they also provide some extra flavor, fiber and protein too! Most Americans don’t eat nearly enough nuts, so this is a way to get some extra nuts in. Replacing half the butter with pecans also cuts the saturated fat content in the crust.
It’s a pretty legit pie crust! I’m a massive pie snob; my mom’s pies are fantastic so I’m always super-judgmental of pie crusts. I think pecans (or any other kind of nut) makes a darn good pie crust.
I also limited saturated fat by replacing the heavy cream with fat-free half and half. Additionally, I replaced 2 eggs with ½ cup of egg whites. Still turned out really good, didn’t miss any of the fat at all!
The whipped cream topping is 100% optional; I only did it for a garnish. I used heavy whipping cream and confectioner’s sugar to make the whipped cream, but Cool Whip is actually a far heart-healthier alternative.
Maple Pumpkin Pie
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 pie plate
- parchment paper
- pie weights (dried beans work great)
Ingredients
Pecan Pie Crust
- ⅓ cup pecans
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup COLD butter (4 tablespoons)
- ¼ cup COLD water
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- ½ cup egg whites
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup fat-free half and half
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Whipped Cream Garnish
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Instructions
Make the pie crust:
- Put the pecans in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
- Add the flour, salt and sugar to the food processor and pulse until mixed with the nuts. I had to use a spatula to make sure the nuts weren't sticking to the bottom of the food processor; you want to make sure everything gets mixed in with the flour.
- Remove the COLD COLD BUTTER from the fridge and cut it up into 4 big chunks. Put the chunks of butter into the food processor and pulse until they're the size of small pebbles, or peas.
- Add the cold water to the food processor and pulse until it just comes together as a dough.
- Remove the dough from the food processor, wrap it in plastic wrap, and set it in the fridge for an hour or overnight. The pie crust can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.
Blind bake the pie crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Lightly spritz a pie plate with nonstick spray.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly-floured work surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large circle about ¼-inch thick. (If the dough is too firm to roll out, you might let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to soften)
- Lay the circle of pie dough inside the pie plate, and use a knife or kitchen scissors to cut off any excess that's hanging over the edges of the pie plate. You might need to fill in some rips and tears, or you might need to use some of the excess overhanging dough on one side to fill in holes on the other side. This is fine; nobody will notice all your pie-surgery when the pie is done.
- Tear off a square of parchment paper and lay it over the pie dough, inside the pie plate. Put some kind of pie weight inside your unbaked pie crust. I like to fill my pie crust with dried beans, and I keep a canister of dried beans in my pantry just for this purpose. You could use actual pie weights, or balled-up aluminum foil, or whatever works for you. We're just trying to weigh the pie crust down so it won't puff up in the oven.
- Bake the pie crust in the pre-heated 350 °F oven for 15 minutes.
Make the pumpkin pie filling
- Put the pumpkin puree in a large bowl.
- Beat in the egg — make sure the egg is well-beaten and completely incorporated into the pumpkin puree.
- Whisk in the rest of the pie filling ingredients
- Pour the pumpkin pie filling into your blind-baked pie crust.
- Return the pie to the hot 350 °F oven and bake at 350 °F for 50 minutes.
- When the pie is done, the center may look slightly jiggly, but the edges will look solid.
- When the pie is done, transfer to a cooling rack and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour. After that, you can move it to the refrigerator.
Make the whipped cream garnish
- Using a hand-held or stand electric mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a tiny bit of nutmeg until thick and creamy.
- Spoon the whipped cream on top of the pie, or fill a piping bag and pipe it on.
- Sprinkle some extra nutmeg on top to make it pretty.
Notes
