Opal's Pumpkin Pie

By Addie

"This recipe makes 2- 9" pies. If you make one large pie instead you will have to add time to the baking to get it done. This recipe was given to me by Opal Beebee, several years ago. This is a handed down family recipe. It was once prepared in the White House for one of the former Presidents. Opal's daughter had served in the National Guard and had met a Pastry Chef who later worked at the White House and called Opal to ask for the recipe for Thanksgiving Dinner at the White House. Do not eliminate the heavy cream IN the pie...the cream and the amount of spices listed is what makes this pie so special. It is good hot or cold. I never tasted hot pumpkin pie until I tasted this one. I found out this past Christmas (2009) that this bakes well without a crust as well. I had to make 3 pumpkin pies to take to my son's home. I had enough mixture left over make another pie but not enough pie dough for a 4th pie. So I spray oiled a round casserole dish, filled with mixture and baked."

Ingredients

• 1 (29 ounce) cans pumpkin ( or fresh cooked equivalent)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 well beaten eggs
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 unbaked 9-inch pie shells

Preparation

Step 1

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.

Combine the evaporated milk and the heavy cream in a small saucepan.
Heat the milks to the scalding point. Add scalded milks to the other ingredients, mixing well. Pour equally into the two UNBAKED pie shells.

Bake 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Pie is done when a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Top with desired topping.
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REVIEWS:

This pie is excellent - perfect blend of spice/sweet/creaminess. The only change I made was to bake it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 50 minutes. At first I was skeptical about the amount of cinnamon, but after eating a piece I found the amount to be perfect.

I have been making this same pie for at least 30 years. The recipe is the same one I have, word for word but from a different source and different title. The recipe I have is called "Old fashioned Pumpkin Pie". It came from a paperback cookbook my mom got when I was in grade school (I'm now 58 years old). She could never remember where she got the cookbook and it has since pretty much fallen apart from age. The cover and some pages gone. I can remember that the cover was either blue or purple and the title was "The Manhattan Cookbook". There was no colorful story along with it about being served at the white house, but the recipe and ingredients are word for word the same as here. So I can attest that this is an excellent pumpkin pie, no matter where it came from. Just thought it was interesting that we had the same recipe from different places.

Add my whole family to the list of people who love this pie! My sister made this for our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner and it was fantastic! She used real pumpkin and made a delicious deep-dish pie. So so good! Because it is deep-dish it did take longer to cook so make sure to protect the crust if you are trying this. Again, DELICIOUS!!!

Every year when Thanksgiving rolls around, there is bound to be the ceremonial pumpkin pie on my family's table. Most years, I pass over it without a second thought. This year, I couldn't go home for the holiday, so I held Thanksgiving and decided to try my hand at a pumpkin pie. I'm very glad I did and used this recipe. This was, hands down, the best pumpkin pie I've ever had. It wasn't that lackluster, soggy mush I've long associated with the "traditional" pumpkin pie recipe. Oh no, my friends, this is a pumpkin pie sent down through the ages by gods. Imagine a creamy, custard-y party in your mouth dancing to the sound of a choir of angels. It was so good that when I was done, I considered breaking my non-smoking streak. Opal, you are awesome for sharing this. Where ever you are now, thank you for making me a pumpkin pie convert.

Holy cow! This pie is amazing! This was my second time making pumkin pie. The first reciepe was good but doesnt even compare to this one! I had 2 pumpkins that i had bought at the farmers market and with the two pumpkins it made just enough for this reciepe. I bought the pillsbury frozen pie crusts and the filling was enough to make 4 pies! Im so excited. My husband and i already ate half of one and i am going to bring one to my sister in laws for thanksgiving and give one to my mom and sister as well. Thank you so much for sharing this yummy reciepe! I will keep t in a safe place and it will definitely be my pumpkin pie recipe!!

Delicious pumpkin pie! I cut recipe in 1/2 to make 1 pie and it came out great. I added some nutmeg and a little extra cinnamon.

Wow, I loved this pie! No complaints from my family, either. The richness of the pie and its assertive spicing really make it different from other pumpkin pies--I made sure to use the freshest spices for maximum pungency. I made this for Thanksgiving and will probably make it at Xmas too. Thanks for sharing! Hope you like my photos, too. UPDATE: I first reviewed/baked in 2005 and I STILL love this pie. Made more converts this Thanksgiving, 2010. :) Sometimes I reduce the amount of sugar but otherwise it's 100% perfect to me. Custardy, creamy, pumpkin-y goodness!

Great! I did halve the ground cloves, but other than that, made it as directed. I also had to bake quite a bit longer than stated. My knife never did come out clean, but after 25 extra minutes, I decided that would be enough! Everyone loved it!

I made it again yesterday. I was tempted to crisp up the crust by cooking it a bit first because the first ones I made, the crust (underneath) was a bit soggy. I decided to follow the directions on the Libby's can for baking. (bake at 425 far. for 15 minutes, and at 350 far. for between 40 and 50 minutes) Following this recipe, but Libby's baking instructions turned out much better for me. Update, 2011: I still use the Libby's baking instructions, but other than that, follow this recipe to the letter. People BEG for this pie! It is the best!

I made this the day before Thanksgiving for the first time. I will only use this recipe from now on. Thank you.

I hate pumpkin pie... NOT THIS ONE! When the boyfriend wanted one I made this ... first time making pumpkin pie (let alone eating it) and LOVING IT. One tip: I made it with a homemade graham cracker crust... not such a great idea. The crust didn't turn out so well with this I'm assuming because of cooking time/temp.

Tried this recipe last year and will never go back to the "recipe on the back of the can." It doesn't sound like it would be drastically different from the usual, but trust me, the extra fat from the heavy cream gives this pie a decadent "mouth feel." It's something to be thankful for!

Very good and not overly sweet tasting despite having so much sugar in it. What I liked was that it cooked up perfectly. I've had pumpkin pies come out too soft in the middle but not this one.

It was wonderful, the spices were right on. However, I felt it was just a bit too sweet, like half a cup of sugar too much. I forgot to scald my milk and used my own pumpkin puree so I had to cook mine an additional 10 minutes. This will be my "go-to" from now on.

This was great! Everyone commented on how flavorful it was!

This pie is divine. The filling comes out moist and soft like a custard, so good. Only change was to use only 1/3 cup of each sugar (instead of 1/2 cup of each) for a half recipe/single pie. Pulled from the oven at 54 minutes. Thank you. ETA 12/26/11: I've made this pie 3 times now. I've found the crust turns out perfect for homemade pie dough if you refrigerate the pie plate with the rolled dough in it before baking. I put the pie plate in the fridge while I make the filling.