It seems like yesterday that I was standing in the kitchen next to my Grandma as she taught me “how to make a Thanksgiving feast.” It took 2 days of long hard work. Grandma is very detailed oriented. She makes all of her own pie crusts, fillings and hand cuts every herb and spice. In fact, I called Grandma to check in and see how she was doing. She quickly responded that she was busy making crusts for pies and then reminded me to get my pineapple salad going! What a great tradition of cooking and communicating that the women in my family have contributed all of these years. Here is my new twist on pumpkin pie. It happened because I was out of evaporated milk. But I did have Braum’s egg nog. So let me tell you….this is a GAME CHANGER! OMG! Think about it, egg nog is a spice based creamy drink. Perfect for a spicy pumpkin pie! So here is my happy mistake that is now a tradition in my home!!
Pumpkin Nog Pie
1 small can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup sugar
12 ounces Braum’s egg nog
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 refrigerated pie crust
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove pie crust from the fridge. In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, egg nog, 3eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Mix together with a whisk till all of the ingredients are well combined. Pour the pie filling in the pie crust and bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 325 for an additional 40 minutes or until the pie no longer jiggles! Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Then chill and serve.
I also remember my Mom making different “bars” in lieu of the ordinary pies. We always had pies but Mom would also make some sort of sweet treat all her own. I loved this. They were easy to grab and go yet packed that Turkey day memory! Holidays are bittersweet without Mom these days but her recipes are with me still today.
Pecan Chip Bars
Crust:
1 french vanilla cake mix
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
Filling:
1 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2/3 cup prepared crust filling
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 cups pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla paste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium sized bowl mix together the vanilla cake mix, unsalted butter and egg till it forms a ball. Remove 2/3 cups of crust and set aside. Then press the remaining crust into the bottom of 9×13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 325 degrees.
To prepare the filling combine the corn syrup, dark corn syrup, eggs and prepared crust. Beat together till well combined with no lumps. Add in the vanilla, pecans and chocolate chips. Stir together and then pour on top of the crust. Bake for an additional hour or until the filling no longer wiggles. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.