A simple-to-make (no hand mixers or stand mixers required!) pumpkin pie with a delicious sugary-pecan streusel. The (optional) two-ingredient maple whipped topping takes this pie over the top!
How was your Halloween? I wasn’t too sure the toddler would get all that excited about Halloween regardless of all the treats we’ve been making and how much we’ve talked about “trick-or-treating.” But I was 100% wrong. He woke up ready for the day and declared at 6 am that he was ready to go trick-or-treating with dad.
The rest of the day was a pretty brutal waiting game for him (me?) as he asked about every ten minutes when dad would be home and when he could go trick-or-treating.
We got a few early trick-or-treaters before his dad was home from work and that had the toddler more excited than he was for his own birthday. He self-appointed himself to open the door and pass out candies while I was “allowed” to stand back and watch. Instead of letting the trick-or-treaters pick out a candy, he would grab his least favorite from the bowl and give them out. After only twenty minutes the bowl was pretty much completely M&M’s (his favorite candy that he could not part with.)
But the second his dad walked in the door, he was ushering him out to go get his own candy.
Within a few minutes he was a pro trick-or-treater. And by the end of the night he was telling people if they gave him a good or gross candy. ??
All in all, I’d say Halloween for us was a huge success. It’s my favorite holiday and I can’t believe it’s already over. The one thing that makes that easier is knowing that two other pretty great holidays are coming up. Namely…THANKSGIVING!
This pie is a fun Thanksgiving twist that the entire family will love. If you can’t decide between pumpkin or pecan pie OR you’re wanting something a little unique, this is the pie to try.
The pumpkin filling is smooth and creamy with a crunchy & delicious pecan topping. It might sound like a lot to do for a pie, but it’s a relatively easy and quick pie to make. First is the crust — pretty standard stuff there. While it’s chilling for a little, you whip together the filling. Easy ingredients that only require a hand whisk.
The streusel happens to be my favorite part of this entire pie. It’s sugary-sweet and perfectly crunchy thanks to the pecan addition. I’m using my favorite baking nuts, Diamonds of California pecans, in this pie — all you do is chop them up and they’re ready to go in the streusel.
Last but not least, there is an optional whipped cream that is only 2 ingredients — heavy whipping cream and maple syrup. Generously topping this pumpkin pie with a creamy thick whipped cream is the perfect finishing touch!
The ingredients may seem a little overwhelming, but I sectioned them off into each part of this pie (for easier reading/following of the recipe) so lots of the ingredients overlap!
- 1 and 1/2 cups white flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon white sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter COLD
- 3 tablespoons shortening butter-flavored, COLD
- 3-4 tablespoons ice cold water
- 1 large egg + 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
- 4 large eggs separated, (you will use 1 whole one and 3 yolks)
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Diamonds of California pecans
- 1/3 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 and 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
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Toss together the flour, salt, and sugar.
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Dice the extremely cold butter into small pieces and add to the bowl along with the cold shortening.
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Cut the butter and shortening into the flour with a pastry blender or two knives until the dough forms coarse crumbs.
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Very slowly, add in 4 tablespoons of ice cold water -- add 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough can form into a ball.
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Stir the mixture a few times with a wooden spoon and then spoon it all onto a large sheet of plastic wrap.
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Knead just a few times to get it into a ball and then wrap tightly in the plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
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Whisk the pumpkin puree with 1 large egg, and 3 egg YOLKS. Once combined whisk in the sweetened condensed milk.
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Add in the cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
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Roll out the pie dough (I roll the dough in between two sheets of plastic wrap) and fit it into a 9-inch pie pan. Fold the edges up one time and then crimp those edges with your fingers.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk and brush that over the crust.
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Add pie weights to the crust (Or put foil in the bottom and fill it with dried beans or rice). In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk and brush that lightly over the edges of the crust.
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Bake just the crust for 10 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
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Remove the pie and pour the filling into the pie pan. Tap a few times to release extra air.
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Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook for another 25-30 minutes.
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Meanwhile, chop the pecans into small pieces.
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Toss the pecans with the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
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Finely dice the cold butter and then using a pastry blender (or your hands), cut it in with the other ingredients until a thick streusel is formed.
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Remove the pie after cooking for 25-30 minutes and top it evenly with the streusel.
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Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until set at the edges and barely jiggles in the middle. (If needed, use a pie shield to keep the crust from browning too much)
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Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
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Serve the pie chilled or at room temperature.
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In a bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the cold heavy whipping cream. Whip for 1-2 minutes and then gradually pour in the maple syrup.
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Whip until soft peaks form.
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Chill until ready to serve.
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Generously spoon the maple whipped cream over the pie and enjoy!
More Thanksgiving desserts:
Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake Ball
Bakery-Style Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Cookies
Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake bars with a Streusel Topping
Special thanks to Diamond Nuts for collaborating with me on this post!
Shawnna Griffin says
hey girl this looks amazing! Yummy! Your son sounds so cute!
Denisse | Le Petit Eats says
This is such a fun way to change up regular old pumpkin pie, love that added crunchy texture from the streusel!
Ann says
I had been hemming and hawing over what to make as the fourth and final dessert for Thanksgiving. This pie just made the cut. Looks delicious! So happy to have stumbled upon your blog. Beautiful site!
chelseamessyapron says
That’s so great to hear! 🙂 I hope you love it so much 🙂 And thank you for your compliment Ann!
Sandy says
This recipe looks fantastic! I’m planning to use a different pie crust recipe that is only butter based and doesn’t include shortening. Would you recommend par/blind baking the crust first before adding in the filling?
chelseamessyapron says
Yes, you will probably need to bake it for a little first. I would fill your crust with pie weights (or tin foil topped with dry beans or rice) and bake it for at least 20 minutes before adding in the rest. I wish I could tell you exact timing, but without testing with your recipe I’m not certain. But hopefully that helps!
Joan says
Hi Chelsea, I’m in the middle of making this recipe and just realized there is no sugar in the filling! I know there is sweetend condensed mulk, but it doesn’t seem very sweet. Last week I made another pumpkin pie recipe with sw. Cond. Milk and it called for a half cup of sugar as well. Is this an error in your recipe?
chelseamessyapron says
Hi Joan! Thanks for the comment ☺️ No error; I’ve found the filling to be plenty sweet with the sweetened condensed milk. That said, feel free to add in some sugar if you’d like ☺️ Happy thanksgiving!
Katie says
Ran out of time to make the crust! Could I used store bought? Do you think I still need to pre-bake a store bought crust?
chelseamessyapron says
That should work great! Check what the package says for general cooking times but I doubt you’ll need to pre cook ☺️ Enjoy!
Kate says
HI Chelsea,
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! The crust was the most troublesome for me but that was because I have never made one before. I found that the dough stuck to the tin foil I used with the beans so I know for next time that I need to spray it with non-stick. I also decided to make it in my food processor, which worked tremendously well. The filling/nut combo was truly spectacular. I have literally NEVER had a pumpkin pie that I enjoyed but I loved this! Thank you so much for your recipes, I don’t know what I did before I found your blog!
chelseamessyapron says
So great to hear all your reviews Kate, I appreciate them!! 🙂 I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying my recipes and I’m so thrilled this pie was a hit!! Making it in your food processor is a great idea! Thanks for your kind words 🙂
Stephanie says
The crust recipe calls for egg and milk, but you don’t mention adding those in when making the crust…is there a part missing there or just an error?
Thanks!
chelseamessyapron says
Thank you for pointing that out and so sorry Stephanie! I’ve updated it; you brush that mixture on the edges of the pie crust before baking! Enjoy!
Tammi Colbert says
Fabulous way to make a pumpkin pie! Didn’t have maple for the whipped cream but it was wonderful. Made it with fresh pumpkin purée! So good!
chelseamessyapron says
So happy it was a hit! Thanks for the comment Tammi 🙂
Sarah says
This pie is always a huge hit when I make it, I cheat though and use the frozen pie crusts instead of making it from scratch. I’ve been thinking about trying this recipe as tarts, with the pre-made frozen tart crusts. If so, they probably wouldn’t take as long to bake right? I would have to cook them less?
chelseamessyapron says
Hahaha no judgement there! Yes they would probably cook quicker! What size tarts? I would just keep an eye on them while they are cooking and they should come out great! 🙂