Fall is in the air. The autumn leaves are changing, the apple cider is flowing, and pumpkin-flavored everything seems to be everywhere. Long before the pumpkin craze exploded, there was just good old pumpkin pie—which has been captivating pie lovers’ palates since the 1600s.

Whether you’re hosting or attending, you can impress everyone at your next get-together with this tasty pumpkin pie recipe from Christine (LaPointe) McHale, ’90, owner of the award-winning Pie Lady Café, in Moorestown, N.J.

And according to The Pie Lady, you don’t need to spend hours scooping out seeds, standing over the stove, and pureeing to get the perfect pumpkin filling. “Canned pure pumpkin will produce just as good a pie as an actual pumpkin does,” McHale says. “So much less work, and it is just as tasty.”

Just make sure to get 100 percent pure pumpkin in a can, not premixed pumpkin pie filling, she warns.

Stay tuned for more tips from The Pie Lady in an upcoming issue of La Salle Magazine.

Piecrust

Ingredients

2½ cups flour

½ tsp salt

8 tbsp chilled unsalted butter

¾ cup shortening

⅓ cup ice water

Instructions

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Cut butter and shortening into flour mixture. You can use your hands; however, a pastry cutter also works well. Mix into coarse crumbs. Gradually add water and mix ONLY until incorporated.

Hint: After you’ve added the water to the flour, try to mix as little as possible.

Collect dough into 2 balls. Chill until ready to use.

Roll out pastry and press into pie pan(s) when ready to use.

Yield: one double-crust pie or two single piecrusts

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

3½ cups pure pumpkin (one 29 oz. can)

1½ cups brown sugar, packed

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp allspice

Dash ground cloves

½ tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp molasses (optional)

6 large eggs

½ cup heavy cream

3 cups evaporated milk (two 12 fl. oz. cans)

Instructions

MIX pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, allspice, cloves, ginger, and molasses in a large bowl. Add beaten eggs. Gradually stir in heavy cream and evaporated milk.

POUR into prepared unbaked piecrust.

BAKE in preheated 350°F oven for 55 to 65 minutes or until center of pie is set. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with a dollop of whipped cream before serving.

Enjoy and give thanks!