Pumpkin Banana Meringue Pie Food

DEEP-DISH PUMPKIN-MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Make the crust: On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 1/8-inch thickness. Fit dough into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges, leaving a 1-inch overhang; fold edges under and crimp as desired. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Line crust with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges just start to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment. Bake until crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the nutmeg in a large bowl.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Pour filling into cooled crust. Bake until center is set but still slightly wobbly, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pie plate set on a wire rack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 6 hours (preferably overnight).
• Just before serving, make the meringue: Combine granulated sugar and egg whites in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Transfer bowl to mixer, and whisk on medium speed for 3 minutes. Raise speed to high, and whisk until stiff glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes more. Dollop meringue onto pie, and spread using a swirling motion.
• Hold a small handheld kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle 3 to 4 inches from surface of meringue. Move flame back and forth until meringue starts to brown.

BANANA-INFUSED PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• Lightly grease a (9-inch) pie dish and set aside.
• Make the graham cracker crust. In a small mixing bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, coconut flakes, sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt until combined. Add the coconut oil (or butter) and mix together until the crust begins to clump together and resembles a wet sand. Spread the crust out evenly in the pie dish and press it into the bottom and the sides. Bake the crust for 4 minutes or until slightly toasted. Transfer to a wire cooling rack while preparing the pumpkin filling.
• Position the baking rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the milk, pumpkin purée, bananas, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, flax seeds, if using, and the remaining salt in a blender and mix on high speed until smooth.
• Pour the pie filling into the crust. Bake the pie for about 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the pie looks soft but set, with a mostly firm center. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and let cool for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed. The pie filling will firm up as it cools.

THE ULTIMATE PUMPKIN PIE WITH CRUNCHY CRANBERRY TOPPING

Steps:

• Make the pastry: combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the ice water and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the dough out into a 10-inch circle. Carefully roll the dough up onto the pin and lay it inside a 9-inch pie pan. Press the dough firmly into the bottom and sides so it fits tightly. Trim the excess dough around the rim and pinch the edges to form a border. Place the crust on a sheet pan to catch any spills. Refrigerate until ready to fill.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Filling: Puree the pumpkin in a food processor with the butter and a pinch of salt. Measure 1 1/2 cups puree into a bowl. In another bowl beat the eggs and sugar until the sugar has melted. Add the eggs to the pumpkin puree and whisk well. Add the cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir well to combine. Pour the mixture into the pie shell, and place on the bottom rack of the oven. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg white. Bake until the pie is set but still jiggles slightly, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool.
• Meanwhile, put the pecans on a baking sheet and bake them with the pie for about 10 minutes to toast them. Remove them from the oven and let them cool. Thaw the cranberries in a strainer set over a bowl to catch the liquid. Put the cookies, pecans, and cranberries into a food processor and pulse them a few times until they are coarsely chopped. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cooled pie and serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers.

MERINGUE GHOSTS AND PUMPKINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed until very foamy and almost forming soft peaks. Add the cream of tartar and salt and increase the mixer speed to medium high. Gradually add the sugar while mixing, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Remove 1/4 cup of the meringue to a small bowl and stir in 2 drops of green gel food coloring until fully incorporated. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
• Transfer half of the remaining meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Set aside.
• Add 4 drops of orange gel food coloring to the meringue still in the mixer bowl and mix until incorporated. Dip a toothpick or skewer into the bottle of orange gel food coloring and drag 3 or 4 lines of food coloring lengthwise along the inside of a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip, spacing the lines apart evenly. Transfer the orange meringue to this piping bag.
• Pipe a dot of meringue in each corner of a baking sheet and press a sheet of parchment paper on top, using the dots to keep it in place. Make ghosts by piping the white meringue into small mounds on the parchment, alternating pressure on the piping bag to create two or three stacked mounds for each ghost. Carefully press two mini chocolate chips, flat-side out, to make eyes for each ghost. Press another mini chocolate chip, pointy-tip up, in each of a few ghosts to make a mouth.
• Make pumpkins by piping the striped orange meringue into small mounds, making sure to hold the piping tip far enough above the baking sheet so that they have some height. Pipe leaves and stems with the green meringue on top of each pumpkin. Carefully press mini chocolate chips, pointy-tip up, into some of the pumpkins to make the eyes and a nose. Line up 4 or 5 chips the same way to make a mouth for each jack-o'-lantern.
• Bake the meringues for 1 hour, then turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside with the door closed for 2 hours 30 minutes more to fully dry out.

TRADITIONAL PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, process the flour sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the frozen butter and process until it is the size of large peas, about 5 seconds. Add the frozen shortening and process for 3 seconds. In a measuring cup, combine the egg and the water. Add egg mixture and process for 5 seconds. Empty the dough onto a counter and incorporate Remaining flour without overworking the dough. Let rest 2 hours.
• In small bowl, combine sugar, salt and spices. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 45 minutes or until firm.

PUMPKIN BANANA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the longer sides, then spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Mash the bananas in a large bowl with a potato masher or fork until smooth, then whisk in the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, sour cream and vanilla until smooth and combined. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, then stir the batter together with a rubber spatula until just combined (it's ok if there are a couple small lumps).
• Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans, smoothing out the top with a spatula. Top each loaf with 3 tablespoons of pepitas. Bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean and each loaf reaches an internal temperature of 200 to 205 degrees F, 60 to 75 minutes.
• Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then use the parchment paper overhang to remove each loaf from the pan. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

BANANA MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. , Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Gently stir in butter and vanilla until butter is melted; set aside. Slice bananas into the pastry shell. Pour hot filling over bananas., In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread meringue evenly over filling, sealing edges to crust. , Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

PUMPKIN MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Combine the pumpkin, the 1/2 cup sugar, spices, and 1/2 ts of salt in a bowl and mix well.
• Add the egg yolks, stirring until well blended, then, gradually, blend in the evaporated milk.
• Pour into the unbaked pie shell.
• Bake in a preheated 400 degrees F. oven for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between the center and edge comes out clean.
• Remove the pie from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
• To make the meringue, beat the egg whites and the 1/8ts of salt in a bowl, using an electric mixer set on high, until foamy.
• Gradually add the 6 tbls of sugar, 1 tbls at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks from when the beaters are slowly lifted.
• Spoon some of the meringue around the edge of the warm pie.
• Spread the meringue so that it touches the inner edge of the crust all the way around the pie, using the back of a spoon to do this.
• Heap the remaining meringue in the center and, again using the back of the spoon, push it out to meet with the meringue border.
• Using a flatware knife, form light small peaks in the meringue and then bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned.
• Cool on a wire rack.