Monday, November 29, 2010

Pumpkin Chess Pie With Praline Sauce

Who takes whipped cream on their pumpkin pie? Everyone in the whole world should be jumping up and down and shouting "I do! I do!" because thats just how pumpkin pie is made. Yup it is basically a scientific fact that every slice of pumpkin pie is naturally grown with whipped cream on top, and apparently pies grown closer local college towns carry a bit of a kick. Okay, so maybe that last part is simply on our "to do some day" list, just for fun =P. With whipped cream being such a staple of the good old American pumpkin pie, imagine everyones shock when we put away the can and poured on a sauce! There were horrified glances around the table, whimpers of fear and the occasional look of sheer terror from our guests that night. What was this strange sauce? How dare they not have any cans of whipped cream in the house! The table was on the verge of mutiny! Or we're exaggerating a little bit. Here's what actually happened: everyone just scarfed down the whole pie in about 2 minutes and asked for more. Eric is a stickler for having whipped cream on his pie, but sometimes the old switch-a-roo comes out better than the original. The praline sauce was a huge hit and changed the way we're looking at pie. Its like putting icing on a cake, if you've only ever had cake, you wouldn't know what your missing, but if you add the best icing ever, it becomes that much more amazing and you never want to have it any other way. As someone at the table mentioned, "Marie Calanders, eat your heart out".

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, with lots of food and family and hopefully too much food and family. We also hope that enough of you survived Back Friday that we still have readers!





Pumpkin Chess Pie 
What You Will Need

2 cups gingersnaps
15 ounces pumpkin puree
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Praline Sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350*

In a food processor, break the gingersnaps down into crumbs. Mix 1/2 cup of the butter in with the crumbs and press crumb mixture into your pie plate, pushing up the sides to make your crust. Bake for about 10 minutes and then set aside.

Beat pumpkin, sugar, and remaining 1/2 cup of butter until smooth. Add eggs, half and half, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves and blend. Pour into pie crust and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes until almost set in center. Cool completely and then chill for about 8 hours (To be honest, we couldn't wait that long, so we cut into it only after about 2 hours of chilling in the fridge and it was oh so good!)  Top with praline sauce and serve!

Praline Sauce
What You Will Need

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*

roast pecans for about 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. 

In a saucepot, combine sugar, half and half, and butter, bring to boil and cook stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and vanilla. Let cool for about 1 hour stirring occasionally. 

19 comments:

  1. Yum! This looks like my kind of pumpkin pie! Love the gingersnap crust and that sauce looks incredible. I don't think I'd miss the whipped cream either. Great twist on a standard!

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  2. A pumpkin chess pie sounds divine! I bet this just melts in your mouth from the looks of the photos :)!

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  3. I would totally take that filling over whipped cream any old day! Looks absolutely delicious.. I think I would have scarfed mine down in less than 2 minutes!

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  4. I am definitely the whipped cream type but I could potentially be a convert to the praline sauce. Awesome pie!

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  5. The last picture looks like the slice can move right into the mouth from the computer screen!!
    Great idea to ditch the whipped cream cans!
    Every year, I entertain the idea of going out at 5 am on Black Friday but every year that Friday morning I chicken out! So, yes I survived the Black Friday :) Hope you guys did too!

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  6. Yum! That praline sauce sounds good enough to drink.

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  7. i was already jumping and saying "i do, i do" for the whipped cream but had to stop and think, "hey, i may be a praline sauce convert!" the pumpkin pie and praline sauce sounds like a great match. it looks so decadent and yummy ;)

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  8. this pie looks seriously good. I am poking my computer screen with a fork now... :)

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  9. I've never had pumpkin pie *gasp* but you've convinced me with that gingersnap crust and the praline sauce. Beautiful!

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  10. That gingersnap crust looks uh-mazing! I would totally give up whipped cream for some of that praline sauce.

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  11. Fabulous sauce. I wouldn't miss the whipped cream at all. ;) Love the gingersnap crust...what a wonderful idea that I will have to remember.

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  12. That is an extremely moist pumpkin pie recipe--you can see how tender it is. The praline sauce sounds like the perfect addition...although I do love a large dollop of cream!

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  13. It's gorgeous. I definitely would happily forego the whipped cream in favour of the praline sauce. No mutiny here!

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  14. I've never had this before, but this seems like a great alternative! Praline Sauce is always a good choice.

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  15. Great idea to serve pumpkin pie with praline sauce...it sure looks delicious :-)

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  16. Gorgeous pie! Beautiful blog! Thanks so much for visiting me and leaving a comment so I could find you. I'm a bit pumpkined out at this point - but I am going to file this for next year. Looks incredible! I MIGHT have to squirt it with whipped cream though - I just might.

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  17. I LOVE this...I don't often make pies b/c I don't make homemade crust. But this I can do!! And I'm from Texas...we do love our pralines down here!

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  18. Pumpkin and Chess Pie? What an amazing combo! Can't wait to try this one. :)

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  19. Love it! So decadent! Giorgia

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