After the holidays, I almost always inspect our pantry and refrigerators and freezers and realize with some shock, the amount of food that is still in there… Because I cook so much during the holidays, I don’t want to run out of basics so I stock up on sugar, flour, baking powder, confectioner’s sugar, molasses, honey, etc. well before the December rush at the groceries. Also, before the holiday dinners set in, I make sure I have lots of broth in stock (no, I don’t make all my broth from scratch as much as I would like to), canned pumpkin, crisco, spices, dried fruits, nuts, etc. But last Christmas was a weird one foodwise for the Marketman household… we chose not to entertain as much and gave most of the savings to charity (food programs) instead, we didn’t have a turkey for Thanksgiving as we normally try to do, and we hied off to New York for Christmas. So our pantry was overstocked and I am now still working through it to make sure that we consume everything before it expires or it attracts the little Mickey’s. The meats and other relative perishables were relatively easy to work through, read, do not do any grocery shopping for three weeks or more and just cook and eat it all up first. We are down to a huge ham that still sits in the fridge… But I still had to work through copious amounts of leftover gingerbread cookies, and in a small aha! moment, I thought I should experiment a bit and make a crushed gingerbread cookie crust for a pumpkin pie. This would kill off the excess gingerbread and the can of pureed pumpkin which would definitely not make it to next Thanksgiving…
I took several (maybe 12) gingerbread cookies and broke them up into small pieces and stuck them in a food processor, added about 1/3 cup of melted butter and several tablespoons of sugar and blitzed this until a damp coarsely ground meal. I pressed this into a tart part (shallower than a regular pie pan as I wanted a high ratio of crust to filling) firmly and evenly, taking care to make sure the sides were evenly done as well. This was enough for 3 small tart pans. I then followed the instructions on the can of Libby’s pumpkin filling for their pie mixture and poured that in carefully to the prepared pans. Baked for about an hour total and voila, a new invention, Pumpkin Pie with a Gingerbread Crust. It’s a world’s first, I would like to think. Or at least nothing like it is on the internet yet… :) Surprisingly, it worked really well. The strong flavors of spices in the gingerbread complemented the pumpkin filling. I pulled back on some of the spices in the filling so as not to overpower the palate, but I thought the experiment was a reasonable success. And I sent two of the tarts/pies to friends/neighbors to fatten them up… as my new year’s resolution is not so much to lose weight myself, as it is to FATTEN up anyone I hang out with so that I look slimmer. Hahaha. I kid you not. Don’t you think that is a brilliant strategy?? :)
26 Responses
wow! a gingerbread cookie crusted pumkin pie!!! my mouth is watering at the thought of this scrumptious desert..and by the way, that is a good strategy, make everyone around you bigger..hehehe
It’s Thanksgiving again, thanks to you… The crust looks moist and chocolatey, did you add cocoa or chocolate? I wonder how this yummy pie would have looked if you used your blue plate (the one you used for the lemon tart :) I’ve been looking for a nice blue leate like yours but can’t find any :(
This really looks good and I know it tastes good as well. I sometimes do add grated ginger in my “pinoy power bread” (LOADED with kalabasa and carrots and other good, local stuff) to add more kick to the whole thing.
And your photos are superb!
I love pumpkin pie! Having a gingerbread crust creates an interesting twist…Btw, were the gingerbread cookies store-bought or was it from scratch…I must have missed a post on this one.. Thanks
Pumpkin and ginger also great combination for soup.
MM, your new year’s resolution sounds very similar to a silly email I received recently, with the line “Lord, if you can’t make me thin, make my friends fat.” :-)
wow, I have missed so many posts over the past few days. I bet that pie was delicious! For thanksgiving I usually make a pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust and the combination works well so I can just imagine what your pie tastes like..
Yummy…I wish I was your friend :) I don’t mind getting fat this time, hehehe
The pumpkin pie looks delicious. Your pie reminds me of a pumpkin cheesecake with gingerbread crust recipe featured in Fine Cooking magazine a while back.
I’ve had pumpkin ice cream at Ghirardelli Square, and it had all the flavors of pumpkin pie. What about pumpkin pie ice cream with crumbled gingerbread cookies mixed in?
That sounds like the PERFECT pumpkin pie, much better than with regular pie crust! Spicy, molasses-y cookies like gingerbread go so well with sweet, creamy pumpkin. It’s hard to believe no one has thought of it before! And I also love how you made sure to have a high crust-to-filling ratio, as I often eat pie/tarts more for the crust than what’s inside. Speaking of which, Sentro 1771’s cheesecake has a gingersnap crust, a different twist to the usual pie or graham cracker crust. It’s quite good, though I’d like it with an even stronger, spicier gingersnap flavor, like I’m sure your crust has.
Oh, to be your neighbor!!! ;-)
hehe..MM, I’m using an avatar right now that says,”Please God if you cannot make me thin, make my friends fat”… it’s a very good strategy indeed >.
That’s a good looking tart/pie you have. Pumpkin/Kalabasa and ginger are great combo. If you run out of pumpkin next time, use our very own kalabasa they are even better than pumpkin. The heavier the kalabasa the fluffier and better it is. Bake or steam it and scoop out the pulp and voila you have a great goodie for pie, tart, bread, soup, etc. Give our very own kalabasa a chance to prove itself to you much better than canned pumpkin. It is worth the extra prepped work.
I second MARIA CLARA’c comment, MM!…Using maybe our local kalabaza next time you feel the urge to bake will make a really awesome pie…pure wholesome goodness with no preservatives added!!! Every summer, I grow at least 3 to 5 varieties of winter squashes. One thing I usually do though is ROAST it first in the oven instead of baking it (sorry MC!) to intensify sweetness of the squash…Iknow, I know..here is Ms. Roast again!!! Just split the squash, remove the seeds and prep them and roast the seeds separate as well….any leftover cubed roasted squash makes really nice salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil!!!
Oh, I FORGOT to say, MM ….here’s the UPSIDE to roasting it first…it brings out the natural sugars of the kalabaza so when you mix it in with the rest of the ingredients of the pie, you can CUT DOWN on the sugar needed maybe to even half the amount or less depending on your taste…thereby, you can have your pie and EAT it too without feeling guilty..I think that`s the BEST PART!!!!
It looks stunning! It’s looks yummY!
With great admiration betty q. I salute and praise you for promoting our very own kalabasa – kabocha squash in the Western world. Thanks again for unleashing the eternal use of kalabasa. Side note: I never use pumpkin in baking, soup for decades now.
great recipe
I love pumpkin pie! yummy. Sonja had a pumpkin tart (more like a mini pumpkin pie)last Christmas at her store it was just heaven. Your photos look great! How I wish we had more of these pies here in Manila.
brilliant plan for you, tragic for the receiver…hahaha! i wouldn’t mind though. never tasted a pumpkin pie, am just saying…
now i know what to do with the gingerbread house… hahaha, fatten up those around me, that’s what i’m thinking also :)
That’s a nice looking pie.. Oh MM, I would love to receive any of your creations, even if you have a hidden agenda of making me even more fat.. hahaha.. :)
Very good looking pie, MM. And the gingerbread spices are perfect for the pumpkin. Just curious, MM. What spices did you add in the filling? I made a pumpkin cheesecake last xmas and the different spices confused me. Cinnamon was a standard but the other additions were ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. I added allspice and cloves. So wacha use, MM? =)
betty q. and maria clara: you guys provide real valuable nuggets of information; very much appreciated =)
Try home-made ginger ice cream to top off your creation…should be a winning combination. ML
May I have some whipped cream to go with this please?
Damn that looks good!
harharhar ..i am reminded of a prayer I used to pray before meals in a gathering. In the end it goes…dear God if it is not your will that I become trim then i pray for you to bless the people here to make them fat. Believe me they burst into laughter each time..:)
The first time I made pumpkin pie was for a halloween party here at home a few years ago.My balikbayan aunt brought home 2 cans of Libby pumpkin and I just followed the recipe in the can. It was so easy to make but the kids didnt like it as much as the adults did!– maybe it was too spicy for them.But your version looks yummy and I’ll heed Maria Clara’s advice–use the local squash!I’ve use our local squash making some creamed soup and it never fails to get the nod of all those who tasted it–Boil then mashed squash(manually or in food processor).Saute some garlic and onions in butter then add a few tbsp of flour to make a roux.Add chicken broth and mashed squash.Stir to boiling.Season to taste with salt and pepper.Turn off heat and stir in a pack of all purpose cream.Add a dash of nutmeg on top.Serve with melba toasts.
Just read your post on Gingerbread Cookies a la Gourmet magazine. Very sharp looking ornament cookies there MM. Tried to search for the recipe and found out that Gourmet has ceased publication as of November 2009. What a shame.
https://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/oct/07/food/chi-1007-gourmetoct07