Little House on the Prairie Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie Recipe | Little House on the Prairie (2024)

Pumpkin pie made an appearance on several occasions in theLittle House on the Prairiebooks. Ma made this dessert for Thanksgiving, but that wasn’t the only time. InThe Long Winter, she even managed to make a pie out of green pumpkins. Some of the pumpkin crop wasn’t able to ripen because the cold weather set in early that year, butMa still found a wayto get dessert on the table.

In modern times, many people take a shortcut and usecanned pumpkin pureeto make a pie. I’ve made many pies this way, but I also like to use fresh pumpkin sometimes. It’s easy to makehomemade pumpkin pureeby roasting sugar pumpkins.Either way, this classic pumpkin pie recipe will make everyone want seconds.

Ingredients for the Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 tspsalt
• 5 tablespoons cold butter
• 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Ingredients for the Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cupspumpkin puree
• 2/3 cupsugar
• 1 tsp.cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp.ginger
• 1/4 tsp.nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp.salt
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make the crust, mix the flour and salt together in alarge bowl. Slice the cold butter into small pieces and add them to the flour. Blend together with your fingertips until the mixture is uniformly coarse. Continue to toss the mixture with a spoon as you add up to 4 tablespoons of ice water. The dough is ready when it easily comes together. (Shortcut: You can also mix these ingredients together in afood processor.)
3. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten the ball into a disc. Chill the dough in the fridge while you prepare the pie filling.
4. To make the filling, place all the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine well.
5. Dust a work surface lightly with flour and flatten the ball of dough on it. With a flouredrolling pin, roll the dough into a circle 2 inches wider than your pie pan and 1/8 inch thick. Roll from the center of the dough to the edge, giving it a slight turn after each roll. Carefully place the dough in thepie pan.
6. Pour the filling into the crust. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the pie is set in the middle and the outer edges of the filling start to crack.
7. Cool completely before cutting.

Do you grow pumpkins inyour garden? Do you like to use pumpkins in other recipes? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments section below. Please see otherLittle House on the Prairie recipesfor amazing old-fashioned foods.

Notes:
The author drew ideas and inspiration fromThe Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Classic Storiesby Barbara M. Walker (New York: Harper & Row, 1979). You can read a review of this wonderful resource by clickinghere.