Pumpkin Seed Piecrust Recipes

Steps:

• Place pepitas in a food processor; pulse until chopped. Add flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some blueberrysize clumps. Add ice water and pulse until incorporated, about 10 times more. Squeeze a small amount of dough to make sure it holds together. If dough is too dry, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, forming each into 1 disk. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough to just under 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Trim excess, leaving a 1-inch overhang; fold edges under and set aside. Roll out remaining disk of dough to just under 1/4 inch thick, cut out small leaf shapes, and mark veins with a knife, if desired. Brush edges of piecrust with egg wash and apply leaves. Freeze at least 1 hour or up to 1 week.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush pastry leaves with more egg wash. Line piecrust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights and bake until entire crust is golden, about 10 minutes more. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and toast for 5 to 8 minutes, until you hear them start to pop.
• Chop 1/2 cup of the pumpkin seeds by pulsing in a food processor. Mix with the graham cracker crumbs, ground ginger and granulated sugar. Stir in the melted butter. Pat this mixture firmly into the bottom and sides of a 10-inch pie pan and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Bake the crust for 15 minutes and remove from oven. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
• Mix the pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolks, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Stir in the crystallized ginger and mix until smooth. Pour into the baked graham-cracker crust and bake about an hour, until the filling is set.
• Remove pie from oven and scatter remaining pumpkin seeds on top. Cool to room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and allspice in a food processor to combine. Add the butter; pulse several times until it looks like coarse meal. Add the vinegar and 1/4 cup ice water; pulse a few more times until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap; press into a disk and wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate, pressing the dough into the bottom and up the side. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp with your fingers or a fork. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• Put a baking sheet on the middle oven rack and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line the crust with foil, then fill with pie weights or dried beans. Transfer to the hot baking sheet and bake until lightly golden around the edge, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is golden all over, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely; leave the baking sheet in the oven.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk the pumpkin puree, eggs, heavy cream, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Pour into the cooled crust and return to the hot baking sheet in the oven. Bake until set around the edge but the center still jiggles slightly, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer to the rack and let cool completely.
• Make the whipped cream: Beat the heavy cream, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the pie with the whipped cream.