Spirited Pumpkin Pie

By KrissyW330

Pumpkin pies have long been favored in New England; there is a recipe for a "pompkin" pie in Amelia Simmons's 1796 American Cookery. New England colonists, in spite of their puritanical reputation, were known to enjoy a tot of rum now and then. And if the liquor was hidden in a pie, even the ladies were able to indulge.

Ingredients

• Crust
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
• Filling
• 1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
• 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Details

Servings 10

Preparation

Step 1

For crust:
Mix flour and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add ice water 1 tablespoonful at a time and process until moist clumps form. Gather into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 30 minutes. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer pastry to 10-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold edge under and crimp. Pierce pastry all over with fork. Freeze pastry 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Bake crust until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.

Meanwhile, prepare filling:
Whisk first 10 ingredients in large bowl until smooth. Whisk in all remaining ingredients. Pour filling into crust.

Bake pie 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Bake until filling no longer moves in center when dish is shaken, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)