On December 25, many Americans are enjoying time with family or friends, take the opportunity to honor the ever-humble and often favored pumpkin pie.  Today it’s National Pumpkin Pie Day!  

Often eaten during the fall and winter months and invited to Thanksgiving and Christmas tables, in the United States pumpkin pie is a traditional dessert. The pumpkin itself is a symbol of harvest.

To make a pumpkin pie, the pulp of the pumpkin is mixed with eggs, evaporated and/or sweetened condensed milk, and sugar and is typically flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

Here is a great step by step recipe.
INGREDIENTS

 

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk, (Or substitute with equal amount Lactose-Free or Almond Cooking Milk)
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
• Whipped cream (optional)

 

INSTRUCTIONS

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

SERVING SIZE1

CALORIES PER SERVING230

CALORIES FROM FAT80

% DAILY VALUE *

• Total Fat 9g14%
• Saturated Fat 4g20%
• Cholesterol 50mg17%
• Sodium 280mg12%
• Carbohydrates 32g11%
• Dietary Fiber 1g4%

• Vitamin A 90%
• Vitamin C 2%
• Calcium 10%
• Iron 2%
• Sugars 20g
• Protein 5g

Pumpkin pie recipes were found in seventeenth-century English cookbooks, such as Hannah Woolley’s 1675, The Gentlewoman’s Companion.  A century later pumpkin pie recipes began to appear in American cookbooks.

Pumpkin pie became a familiar addition to the Thanksgiving dinner in the early seventeenth-century when the pilgrims brought it back to New England. Initially, the pumpkin pie was prepared by stuffing the pumpkin with apples, spices and sugar then baking it whole.

There are many seasonal pumpkin pie flavored products that are now available including, ice cream, pudding, coffee, lattes, cheesecake, pancakes, candy and beer.

In the 1844 Thanksgiving poem, “Over the River and Through the Wood” written by Lydia Maria Child, there is a reference to pumpkin pie in one of its verses: “Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!” 

The song, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” contains the lyric, “Later we’ll have some pumpkin pie, and we’ll do some caroling”.