If you are looking for a special pie for the holidays, this is it – a light pumpkin pie with beaten egg whites folded into the pumpkin custard, spiked with rum, set in a gingersnap cookie crust, and covered with whipped cream.
The recipe is adapted from one from my friend Heidi who pulled a recipe from the Boston Globe a few years ago. And as they say in New England, it’s wicked good.
Chiffon Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Use a food processor to finely grind the gingersnap cookies, or put in a large freezer bag and roll over several times with a rolling pin.
If you want to make pumpkin purée from scratch, instead of using a can, cut a sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, lie face down on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour.
Cool, scoop out the flesh and run through a food processor or blender to purée. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use.
You'll need a 9-inch deep dish (about 1 3/4 inch high) pie plate for this pie. A 10-inch pie dish may also work.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups finely ground gingersnap cookie crumbs (from about 10 ounces of gingersnaps)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 envelope gelatin
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 eggs, separated (or 3 egg yolks and enough egg white substitute for 3 egg whites)
- 2 Tbsp rum (note original recipe called for 1/2 cup of rum, but I and several others think it's a bit much)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups pumpkin purée (one 15-ounce can of pumpkin purée)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, softly whipped (for topping)
- Extra crushed gingersnaps (for garnish)
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