Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

One of the many things I love about Dorie’s recipes as that most of them are pretty forgiving. That is to say, that when I’m not paying attention and screw something up, I can usually fix it and no one but me ever knows. Case in point: this Pumpkin Caramel Pie. One of the tweaks that Dorie suggests for this pie is the addition of a pecan streusel topping. I thought it sounded like a great idea and whipped some up to use for my pie. The topping is supposed to be added to the pie after it has baked for ten minutes. Well, I put that streusel in the fridge to keep cold and totally forgot about it – until after my pie had already been baking for about forty minutes.

Crap! I hate when that happens!

I wasn’t sure if I should put the topping on anyway, or just forget about it. I took a chance and threw it on anyway. So glad I did!

Dorie’s Caramel Pumpkin Pie alone is nothing to sneeze at. She takes a pretty standard pumpkin pie recipe and amps it up by swirling a luscious homemade caramel sauce into the filling. The marriage of that cool, smooth pumpkin and velvety, rich caramel is definitely something to drool over. Adding a nutty, buttery streusel to the mix is nothing short of brilliant!

Instead of using a regular pie crust for this one, I decided to try it with a spicy gingersnap crust. I just liked the idea of something crunchy to go with all that creaminess. That, and because I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to make a crust from scratch. It was a good call. As planned, the gingersnap crust was crunchy, but with a tiny bit of a chewy vibe going on. I really loved how it worked in this pie. The texture was a nice counterpoint to the filling and all of the spices played really well together. This Pumpkin Caramel Pie is going to be a strong contender for a spot on my Thanksgiving table this year.

If you’d like to see a lot more variations on this pie, stop by the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll and take a look. If you’d like the recipe, you can find it in the book, or on our hostess, Janell, of Mortensen Family Memoirs. I’ve included the recipe for the gingersnap pie crust in case you’d like to try it too.

Gingersnap Pie Crust
adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

2 cups gingersnap crumbs
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together gingersnap crumbs, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Add butter and stir until mixture is moist and well combined. The crumbs should hold together when pinched with your fingers. If the crumbs do not hold together, add up to 1 tablespoon of cold water, a teaspoon at a time, and stir to combine.

Press crumb mixture into a 9-inch pie plate, evenly covering the bottom and sides. Transfer to freezer and chill for 10 minutes. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake until crust is fragrant and set, about 10 minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Makes one 9-inch pie crust

Enjoy!