Pumpkin Pie and Books

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. I’m a diehard Summer fan, but still enjoy what Autumn has to offer, more specifically, its food.

I make pumpkin pie almost weekly during the months of October and November. Here’s my recipe, which has pleased an abundance of pumpkin pie connoisseurs over the years:

Crumble-topped Vermont Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

1 15-oz. can pumpkin

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk (fat free works fine)

1 egg

1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp each ground ginger, nutmeg, salt

2 tsp pure Vermont maple syrup (I make this myself. So much fun!)

1 pie crust (pre-made ones are fine if you don’t have time to whip up one from scratch)

¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp cold butter (margarine is fine)

¾ cup chopped walnuts

Steps:

1.       Preheat oven to 425⁰. Use  a wire whisk to beat pumpkin, condensed milk, egg, maple syrup, ¾ tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Pour into crust.

2.       Bake 15 minutes.

3.      While that's baking, combine sugar, flour, and remaining cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Remove crust from oven. Reduce oven to 350⁰. Sprinkle topping mixture over pie.

4.      Bake for another 40 minutes. Cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers (if there are any!).

 

I also love pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spiced tea, and pumpkin soup, all of which I try to make throughout the season. You might think I’d get sick of pumpkin by the time winter rolls around, but strangely, I don’t. You can never have too much pumpkin!

I hope you try my pie recipe and it causes many rounds of yummy noises to emanate from your family members and friends. I find pumpkin pie is best served with hot apple cider and a good book.

Here are a book you may enjoy with your treat:

FIREFLY MOUNTAIN

Firefighter Patrick Barre is determined to hide away in the woods of Vermont. He's content to do his job, remodel his house, and enjoy the company of his arson-detection dog, Midas. Scars from the fire that destroyed his family keep him from letting anyone into his life.

Gini Claremont uses her camera to celebrate the beauty of life. Nature soothes her, while anger is dangerous for Gini--and anyone near her. If she doesn't guard her emotions, her surroundings could go up in flames. Living alone, keeping busy, and letting her family keep watch on her is best for
everyone.

When an arsonist declares war on their town, Patrick and Gini reluctantly band together to sift through the ashes, each holding a secret close to the heart. As the arson escalates, so does their mutual attraction. Will teaming up put out the fires, or start a whole new one?

Firefly Mountain can be found on Amazon along with all my other titles. Please visit my website as well here.

Happy Pie Eating and Reading,
Chris