The Yankee Chef
To begin with, if you don’t have pumpkin spice, simply mix 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg and dried ginger and 1/4 teaspoon each allspice and ground cloves.
This pie is extraordinary. My father, a U.S. Navy veteran, cooked at the Bangor House, as did my grandfather many decades earlier. While glancing through my grandfather’s recipes, I happened upon this one. It was in his old Boston Conservatory violin book that had a note written with it, referring to it as being the pumpkin pie served at the old Bangor House restaurant around 1925. I always thought my pie was great, but one bite of this lighter than usual pumpkin pie, you will fall in love with it as I have. It rises when baking and falls just a little bit as it cools.
1 graham cracker pie crust*
1(15-oz.) can pureed pumpkin
3/4 cup brown sugar (see NOTE)
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
Preheat oven to 350°F. If you don’t have a prepared graham cracker pie crust already, just mix the ingredients below and press it firmly into a 9-inch pie pan. Place the pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, egg yolks, vanilla, and spices in a bowl and whisk well. In a separate clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the meringue into pumpkin mixture thoroughly. Add remainder and gently fold in until no streaks are visible. Pour into prepared pie crust and bake 50–55 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles. Remove to cool completely before slicing to serve.
*1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted.
NOTE: I also add 1 extra tablespoon molasses for that deep, sweet, natural flavor we Yankees like so much. If you do not have brown sugar, use 3/4 cup granulated sugar with 2 tablespoons molasses.
