Butternut Squash Pie

We substitute Butternut Squash to make our pumpkin pie.  Butternut is dense, sweet, not stringy and makes a superior tasting pie. This recipe comes from Fannie Farmer, but we’ve made some changes.

We prefer Sucanat for white sugar and we back it down, because Butternut is sweeter than pie pumpkin.

We use heavy cream and whole milk to replace the original evaporated milk.   Have you ever tasted evaporated milk?  Awful stuff!  No place for it in our delicious pie.

Be sure and taste your pie batter for sweetness and spiciness before baking.   We often add an extra pinch of spice before baking.

Single Crust Pie Dough – link to our favorite recipe below.
1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar, we prefer Sucanat for added flavor
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 cups cooked, mashed Butternut Squash
1 c heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs

Butternut Squash can be cut into a few slices and oven roasted at 350 degrees until very tender.  We prefer oven roasting for the added flavor.   Steaming or simmering works, but it dilutes the flavor of the squash.   Allow pieces to cool, scrape into bowl and mash well.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine cooled, mashed squash and remaining ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.  Taste for sweetness and spice and make any adjustments.  Pour into the prepared pie shell.  Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 325 degrees and bake until filling is set. This can take up to 45 minutes or longer depending on depth of your pie pan.  Your pie is done when you gently shake and the center isn’t jiggly.

Sour Cream Pie Crust

This is our favorite pie crust.

Please note! We consistently find we must add some cold water to bring the crust ingredients together after adding the sour cream.

We use as little as possible but enough that all the crumbly crumbs are easily pulled into the dough ball. If your dough seems too dry and won’t form a ball properly, add a spoonful of cold water to the dry part in your bowl. Continue adding a little water until all crumbly parts come together.