Perfect Pumpkin Pie For Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving our family is doing something we haven't done in years. We are entertaining both sides of our relatives for the weekend and we'll be hosting thirteen for dinner Thanksgiving day. 

We will be preparing two twenty-pound turkeys, one in our deep fryer and the other in the oven with my Champagne recipe. Our family has divided the rest of the menu so that not one single person has to carry the load. The other dish that I have volunteered to make is pumpkin pies. 

I found a simple recipe on Pinterest but things didn't quite go the way I had planned on my first go-round. However, after making some adjustments I think I have perfected these blueprints for the perfect pumpkin pie!   

Ingredients

• 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 large eggs & 1 egg for egg wash
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 unbaked deep-dish pie crust
• 1 sheet of roll out dough 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Prepare a pie crust in a pie plate. I put my store-bought pie crust on a cookie sheet to give the pie more stability when taking it in and out of the oven. Egg wash the sides of the pie crust so that it does not burn.
  
  
• Combine all wet ingredients in a bowl and the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Then in a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the wet and dry ingredients until smooth. Pour into pie crust.
  
  
• Bake in a 425-degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35-40 minutes. You'll know it is done when you can tap the middle and it doesn't jiggle. If the pie is baking faster then you like on top, feel free to cover with foil.
  
  
  While the pie is baking roll out the store-bought dough and use cookie cutters to produce the designed you would like on top of your pie. I opted for fall leaves. Spray your cookie sheet with Pam and egg wash your cutouts. Bake alongside your pie until golden brown.
  
  
• Cool completely before serving.