It's time for the holidays; and Pumpkin Pie is a perfect dessert for either Thanksgiving or Christmas.

It is also as good as any pie for any special occasion. This recipe is 'from scratch' because I link to one of my instructables explaining how to make the pumpkin puree from scratch instead of using store-bought canned pumpkin.

Also, be sure to check out my new-ish food blog: Michael's Test Kitchen !

Step 1: Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 regular sugar pumpkin

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon pumpkin spice

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

NOTE:

If you really must, then you can use 1 can of canned, pre-made, factory-processed pumpkin.

Step 2: Cut Up the Pumpkin

If you want to see how to make the pumpkin puree from scratch in a separate instructable, go here. If not, continue:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut off the stem, then cut the pumpkin in half, and scrape out all the seeds and strings, reserving them if you plan on roasting the seeds. Cut the halves again into half, so that you have four pieces of pumpkin.

Step 3: Puree

Place all the quarters of the pumpkin face down on a baking sheet, cover with foil, and bake in preheated oven for about an hour and a half, until tender.

Scrape the tender meat off the rind, and place in a high speed blender, or food processor. I used a Vitamix, which works really well. Puree until completely smooth, and no chunks are found. Now you’re ready to use this your pumpkin pie.

Step 4: Mix It All Up

Set oven temperature to 425 degrees.

In a small bowl whisk together the spices and salt. In a large bowl, beat together pureed pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and eggs. Then dump in the spices, and stir in well.

Step 5: Bake, and EAT

Pour mixture into an unbaked pie crust, and bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Then set oven temp to 350, and bake for another 45 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Remove from oven, and rest for an hour or so, then place in fridge, and cool for another 6 hours until cold.

Serve with whipped cream.