In this Pumpkin Pie on Date-Pecan Crust you’ll taste the traditional pumpkin and spice flavor on a crunchy nutty crust. This pumpkin pie can be in the oven in under 30 minutes. That means that you could bake in on Thanksgiving morning and have a pie in the evening, without losing time.
Full of flavor with a crust of dates and pecans. No need to pre-bake the crust, just grinding the pitted dates and the pecans together. The dates are the glue and the pecans are the crunch. Together, they make a nice crust that will hold the pumpkin filling just fine. Grind the nuts and dates and press the mixture into your form.
The filling is rather traditional; pumpkin puree, sugar and spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom), mixed with milk, cream, eggs, vanilla and salt. The result is velvet on crunch. Some pecan halves on top to connect the ingredients; Pumpkin Pie on Date-Pecan Crust.
I really like the taste of a pumpkin pie. This year, I made a change in the crust; more texture and additional flavors, sweetness from the dates and the crunch from the nuts. Pecan are a very forgiving type of nut. Not too hard, and it stays crunchy, even with the ‘wet’ pumpkin filling. You can decorate with whipped cream. Personally, I am not a fan of whipped cream on cakes or pie. I love whipped cream, but not here, not on a cake or pie; it dilutes the flavor. Sounds silly? most likely; I guess we all have our idiosyncrasies.
The great thing about this recipe; it is done in under 30 minutes; if you push it, you can do it in 20 minutes. It is flour-less, gluten-free, vegetarian, and delicious. The baking will take about 1 hour, but the preparation is not much work. For me, time during the holiday season is scarce. Running a retail gourmet food business keeps me running around like a crazy person, from mid-November until mid-January. No time for anything, but trying to keep the customers happy, so they have what they need for their Thanksgiving dinners. Every now and then a day off (like Thanksgiving Day), so then I try to rest and re-charge for the next holiday, sale day etc.
All that’s fine with me. I was not born here, so Thanksgiving is a tradition that is not in my bones. Don’t get me wrong, I know what Thanksgiving is about and believe me, I am very thankful for a lot of things. May be the most important one being together here, in the US, with the love of my live on this day. Over the past decades, Bill has often been away around Thanksgiving, and with a very busy E-commerce business, we have created our own funny tradition. I always bake a Pumpkin pie, this year a Pumpkin Pie on Date-Pecan Crust, and I always make lasagna for dinner.
A compromise if you like. A favorite recipe for dinner, my lasagna and the pumpkin pie to keep in check with the rest of the country. What is your Pumpkin Pie recipe?
Pumpkin Pie on Date-Pecan Crust
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1.5 cups dates pitted
- 1.5 cups pecans
FILLING
- 15 ounce pumpkin puree 1 can
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon clove
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pecan halves
Instructions
CRUST
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place pitted dates and pecans in a food processor and pulse until fine. Don’t pulse it to dust, you want to keep some larges pieces for the necessary crunch.
- Transfer mixture to a pie form. I used a 9-inch spring form.
- Firmly press the mixture onto the bottom of the pan. If you use a smaller form you can also press some up the sides. Place into the fridge to cool.
FILLING
- Combine pumpkin puree, sugar, salt and spices in a saucepan, mix and heat until it bubbles. Cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat.
- Mix milk, cream, eggs and vanilla and slowly add the puree to the milk mixture.
- Poor warm mixture onto the crust and place in oven.
- Bake pie for approx. 60 minutes. Filling will still jiggle in the center. Transfer pie to a wire rack and allow to cool.
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