Sinfully rich, this beautifully nuanced pie will make you the star of next Thanksgiving's family get together.

Here's how to start:

Step 1: Make the Pie Crust

You can use a single pre-made crust, use your favorite recipe or use this one:

150 grams/ 1 1/4 cups/ 5 oz of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tblsp white sugar
1 stick plus 2 Tablespoons salted butter FROZEN
2 Tblsp cold vodka
2 Tblsp cold water

This Vodka pie dough recipe is one that is readily available on the web and here on Instructables, but with my own twist.

No pastry cutter needed.

Carefully weigh your flour- if you don't have a scale, sift or SPOON your flour into the measuring cup until it is heaping full, and then level off with the back side of a knife. Very important you do not scoop the flour with the measuring cup- you'll end up with far too much flour in your recipe. (You may notice I am making a double recipe in my pictures- I hate making pie crust so I do a big batch at one time)

Add the flour to a large mixing bowl; add salt and sugar and stir.

Next, take one stick of FROZEN butter at a time from the freezer and grate the butter into the flour. Knock the butter curls from inside the grater into the bowl and gently fluff the butter curls into the flour until coated. Handle the butter as little as possible. Grate the rest of the butter, one stick at a time and fluff after each. Work quickly and put the bowl back in the freezer if there is a phone call, baby crisis or other delay.

When all the butter is in, it will look like conventionally "cut in" pastry dough. Put the bowl back in the fridge or freezer for a minute.

Next, measure your cold vodka and cold water. This will seem like a lot of fluid, but it will enable you to easily work the dough and most of the vodka will bake out without a trace.

Sprinkle the water/vodka mix into your bowl of flour/butter and stir with a fork until all the water is absorbed or you feel you have used enough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and return to the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours. You want the flour to hydrate and the butter to chill hard. You may form the dough into a ball at this time, or wait until you are ready to roll out the dough.

Lay out a wide layer of plastic wrap, lightly sprinkled with flour. Pat the ball of dough into a rough circle, sprinkle with flour, lay more plastic wrap on top and roll out. *Note; this dough will be very soft and very short as it warms up. If it starts sticking to the plastic wrap, you can transfer it back to the freezer for a few moment to stiffen up*. Lay over your pie pan.

If you wish to pre-bake this crust, fill the shell with beans or rice to weigh the crust down, and bake until just lightly golden. Let cool before adding the pumpkin filling

Step 2: Assemble the Filling Ingredients

For a single pie (double the ingredients for 2 pies)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

small can of dry-pack pumpkin or 16 oz fresh, mashed pumpkin

8 oz heavy cream (this will give your pie a mousse-like texture)
OR
8 oz evaporated milk (this will produce a more custard-like texture)

1/2 cup dairy sour cream

** fresh ground spices are to be preferred. Adjust spices to taste if desired.
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp finely grated or microplaned fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp dry ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cayenne

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tblsp bourbon whiskey

Add ingredients in order, starting with eggs beaten until foamy. Blend in other ingredients on low speed.

Step 3: Bake

Bake at 425 degrees F (218 C) for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees F (177 C) and continue to bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the filling comes out clean.

Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Wait modestly for the applause.