Grandma Rose's Praline Pumpkin Pie

Well, Thanksgiving has come and passed and now it's time for Christmas. I love the Christmas season. I enjoy giving gifts and I always put a lot of thought into every single gift. Yesterday we put up the Christmas tree and the stockings so it's really starting to feel like that time of year. It was even below 70 degrees here in Texas!

Tomorrow morning I go back to Boston. I love my friends and my life at school, but it's hard to tear myself away from my family and loved ones. Thankfully, I only have about two and a half weeks before I come back home for an entire month. But until then, I have a lot of work to do-- not to mention baking!

 

Yesterday, in the midst of our decorating frenzy, I made this praline pumpkin pie from the Grandma Rose cookbook. After making several of her recipes, I learned to take her instructions with a grain of salt and I think this actually worked out well for me. As I suspected, the written baking time was too long and the heat a bit higher than necessary. I'll tell you how long I baked it and at what temp, but your welcome to play with it a bit if it doesn't work for you.

What you need for the crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold sweet butter
6 tablespoons sour cream

For the praline shell:
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet butter, softened

 Sift together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter, leaving the mixture in coarse lumps.

Cut in the sour cream, a little at a time, using no more than is necessary to hold the dough together. Add no water. I actually used about 7-8 tablespoons of sour cream because mine was just far too dry.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle and fold it in thirds. Chill the folded dough wrapped in waxed paper for at least 30 minutes before using.

Roll out the dough and line a nine inch pie plate with it. Cut excess dough off of the edges.

Blend pecans with sugar and butter. Press gently with the back of a spoon into bottom of pie shell.

What you need for the filling:
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup rum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon mace

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Blend together the pumpkin and the eggs.

Add in the cream, rum, sugar and spices. Blend gently. If using a mixer, be very careful as the whipping cream will whip up if you are too vigorous. Pour into the shell.

Bake for about 40 minutes. Pie is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. If you wish, you can top with a meringue and stick back in the oven for a few minutes to brown.

 

I actually was not a huge fan of this pie. The filling does not taste like a traditional pumpkin pie and the texture is a lot lighter. For some reason, I actually had too much filling and ended up making a little trifle as well.

I really like the praline layer, but the crust was really tough. This is possibly my fault as I kept second guessing the crust and may have overworked it. My parents loved it and though it was delicious but I'm not sure that this is something I would want to make again.

I hope you'll give it a try yourself and tell me what you think of it. Good luck!
Rosie

Source: Grandma Rose...