If there is one thing I don’t like…it’s watery pumpkin pie. I ate a lot of those growing up. Years ago I came across a recipe I made my own. It produced a perfect pumpkin pie every time, with minimal work. The key? Sweetened condensed milk. No water seeping out, no flour, no thickeners needed. Just smooth, rich pumpkin. 5 ingredients are all you need.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
• 14 ounce can or bottle sweetened condensed milk
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice blend
• 9″ unbaked frozen pie crust, thawed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Whisk the pumpkin, milk, eggs and spice together in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Place the pie pan on a rimmed baking sheet, pour the filling into the crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 350° and bake for 40 minutes.

Take out and let cool on a rack fully, refrigerate till cold, store loosely wrapped.

Makes 1 pie.

~Sarah

Love pecan pie? But also wish it wasn’t corn syrup teeth rotting sweet? I came up with this recipe years ago, and make it twice a year: Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone who tries it…they rave about it. The pecans are crispy, and it has so much flavor.

If you are going to indulge, do it well.

My one area I am not great at is homemade pie crusts, I cheat and use frozen ones, but buy Wholly Wholesome, which for a commercial crust are fabulous. And I figure I have enough other things I am making from scratch 100% for the holiday dinners.

And yes, you MUST use the booze. This is one recipe where you cannot not use it. It is what gives the flavor, and keeps the pecans crunchy.

Tennessee Honey Maple Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

•    9″ unbaked pie crust, in pan (thawed if frozen)
•    5 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
•    1 cup granulated sugar
•    ½ tsp fine sea salt
•    3 large eggs, room temperature
•    1 cup pure maple syrup
•    1 tsp pure vanilla extract
•    6 Tbsp Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, divided
•    2 cups pecans, ¾ of them broken up

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet.
Heat a large skillet over medium, add in the pecans and dry-toast till smelling fragrant, shaking often. Take the pan off the burner, carefully add in 3 Tablespoon of the Tennessee Honey, stir till the alcohol has evaporated and pecans are dry. Take off the stove and let cool fully.
Add the butter to a large mixing bowl, beat till light and fluffy. Add in sugar and salt, beat till combined. Mix the eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and remaining Tennessee Honey in a small bowl, add to butter mixture, beating in. Add in the cooled pecans. Pour into the pie shell and gently place in the oven. Bake for 60 minutes, until the pie is golden brown.
Let cool to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator loosely covered.

~Sarah

The weeks have melted into each other these past 7 weeks, and I don’t get a lot of time to sit down and write up recipes. But this one was so easy and quick to make, and oh the boys loved them. So I found the time to write up the recipe to share!

Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams weighed)
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened and diced
• ½ cup + 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp neutral oil, such as avocado
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add in the butter and work in till fine crumbs.

Add in the ½ cup milk and oil, quickly stir into a dough, mix in the chocolate chips.

Sprinkle a work surface with more flour, knock out dough, sprinkling a bit more flour on top. Gently knead dough a couple times so it isn’t sticky (use a bench scraper as needed to move dough). Pat out into an 8″ circle. Use bench scraper to cut into 8 sections, and move to the baking sheet.

Brush scones with remaining milk.

Bake for 14 minutes, or until gently golden on top. Let cool, store any leftovers in a tightly sealed glass container.

Makes 8 scones.

~Sarah