Pie - 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie
By Ken Haedrich, The Harvard Common Press, Boston, MA, published 2004

Muirhead Pumpkin Butter and Pecan Pie

I seldom write a recipe around a product that isn't widely available in most supermarkets, but I'm going to make an exception for something called Pecan Pumpkin Butter made by a New Jersey company named Muirhead. (You can find Muirhead online at www.muirheadfoods.com). Muirhead's pumpkin butter is pureed pumpkin cooked to a thick, delicious paste, then combined with finely chopped pecans, sugar, lemon juice, and spices. It's mainly a spread for biscuits, toast, and English muffins, but after one taste, you'll know why I love it as at the base for this creamy, perfectly spiced pie. This is one of my favorite fall desserts.

1 recipe basic flaky pie pastry, single crust, refrigerated
3 large eggs, at room temperature
One 13.5-ounce jar (about 1 1/3 cups) Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter
½ cup heavy or whipping cream
¼ cup light cream or half-and-half
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1-½ cups coarsely chopped pecans

  1. If you haven't already, prepare the pastry and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
  2. On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the pastry into a 12-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9-inch standard pie pan, center, and peel off the paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the edge into an upstanding ridge. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes, then partially prebake and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
  3. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl just until frothy. Add the pumpkin butter, heavy cream, light cream, sugar, and salt and whisk well to combine. Stir in the pecans, then turn the filling into the cooled pie shell. Using a fork, gently rake through the filling to distribute the nuts evenly.
  4. Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 25 minutes, then rotate the pie 180 degrees, so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward. Continue to bake until the filling is barely set in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. When done, the edge of the pie may have puffed slightly.
  5. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool. The pie can be served slightly warm or at room temperature. Or it can be thoroughly cooled, covered with loosely tented aluminum foil, and refrigerated before serving.
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