Maple Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar Crust

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup shortening, cubed, frozen
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed, frozen
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup ice water

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg, whisked in a small bowl with 1 Tbsp. water (for cut-outs)
• Coarse Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Crust:

Process flour, brown sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Scatter the shortening over the flour mixture and pulse until it has the appearance of coarse sand, about 10 times. Scatter the butter over the mixture and pulse until it has the appearance of coarse crumbs, about 10 times. Sprinkle 4 Tbsp. ice water over the mixture and pulse until dough comes together. Transfer to a mixing bowl and work in more water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until dough forms a rough ball but is not too wet. Divide dough ball in half, shape each into a ball and flatten slightly into disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425°F and remove one ball of dough from refrigerator to soften slightly. Roll out dough to a 12” round that is 1/8” thick and place in 9” pie pan. Crimp edges as desired. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before baking. To par bake, line the pie crust with parchment paper and use pie weights to weight it down. Bake for 12 minutes; carefully remove parchment and pie weights and bake 1-2 more minutes or until crust looks dry and is lightly golden.  Remove pie shell to a rack and reduce oven heat to 350°F.

Filling:

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Then add pumpkin, whipping cream, maple syrup, brown sugar and vanilla extract and whisk together. In a small bowl, whisk the cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper, then add it to the pumpkin mixture and combine until smooth.

Pour the filling into the parbaked crust and bake 65- 70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If crust edges brown too quickly, cover the edges with a pie shield or strips of foil. Remove pie to a wire rack to cool.

Decorative Leaf Cut-Outs:

Soften the second ball of dough slightly. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough to a 12” round that is 1/8” inch thick. Press the Leaves side of the Apples and Leaves Pie Top Cutter firmly into the dough, going over the top of it with the rolling pin to make sure all the impressions are cut-out. You may need to finish cutting around each leaf with a paring knife. Discard the stems of the leaves. Reroll the dough scraps into a 1/8” thick round and press out more leaves. Transfer individual leaves to the baking sheet. If desired, use a paring knife to lightly score lines that mimic leaf veins (don’t score all the way through the leaves). Brush each leaf with the egg wash and sprinkle the leaves with Turbinado sugar. Bake 15 -20 minutes at 350°F or until lightly browned. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool slightly. When you can safely handle the cut-outs, decorate the warm pie as desired. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream!