Don't Ruin Thanksgiving With These Common Pumpkin Pie Mistakes (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you put too much evaporated milk in a pumpkin pie? ›

Pies with too much evaporated milk formed blisters on top.

Though the interior of the filling had a great, creamy texture. The flavor was ever-so-slightly muted and had a hint of milkiness to it.

As the name suggests, sweetened condensed milk makes the pie sweeter and gives it a denser, creamier texture. Evaporated milk, on the other hand, yields a lighter, airier result. Evaporated milk isn't sweetened either, which is why you can't simply swap one thickener for the other.

Sprinkle dried breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes, or other types of cereal, on the bottom crust before filling and baking in the oven. The layer will absorb moisture and prevent the filling from turning the crust soggy.

In 1705 the Connecticut town of Colchester famously postponed its Thanksgiving for a week because there wasn't enough molasses available to make pumpkin pie.

While a wobbly, runny pie is a telltale sign that a pumpkin pie is undercooked, an overcooked pumpkin pie is a bit harder to spot. When you've overcooked a pumpkin pie, you may see: The filling separating from the crust. The filling has visible cracks.

Potential downsides. Evaporated milk may be problematic for people with lactose intolerance or cow's milk allergy (CMA), as it contains more lactose and milk proteins per volume, compared with regular milk. Lactose is the main type of carb found in milk and dairy products ( 20 ).

Yes! It's a technique called “docking” pastry, and it helps let steam escape the crust when baking so that it doesn't puff up. You can do it with a fork: Picture courtesy of The Spruce Eats.

For a guaranteed browned bottom, prebake the pie crust.

But the one surefire way to make certain your pie's crust will be golden brown, crisp, and delicious — just as appealing as its filling — is to prebake it. That's right: bake the bottom crust first, before adding the filling.

According to some accounts, early English settlers in North America improvised by hollowing out pumpkins, filling the shells with milk, honey and spices to make a custard, then roasting the gourds whole in hot ashes.

What is a funny question for Thanksgiving? ›

Would you rather eat Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant or at home? Would you rather take a nap after the meal or watch a football game? Would you rather always smell like turkey or always smell like gravy? Would you rather be in the Thanksgiving Day parade, or be one of the hosts commenting on the parade?

It is also worth noting what was not present at the first Thanksgiving feast. There were no cloudlike heaps of mashed potatoes, since white potatoes had not yet crossed over from South America. There was no gravy either, since the colonists didn't yet have mills to produce flour.

Evaporated milk: A can of evaporated milk lends richness and helps thicken the pie filling.

Bakers often use it as a substitute for cream to help reduce fat content. To substitute for a cup of regular milk, add in one part evaporated milk and one part water. For a more fresh-milk taste, add half the called for milk with evaporated milk, and the rest with water.

Why Didn't My Pumpkin Pie Set? You're ready to serve your homemade pumpkin pie, but when you try to cut it, it's too runny to get any clean slices. Why this happens: The pie was underbaked, or the oven temperature wasn't high enough. Taking the pie out of the oven prematurely is a very easy mistake to make.

You have to get it right: If it's underdone, you have raw crust and gooey filling; if it's overdone, you have a cracked top and rubbery texture. And too much poking and prodding can make your lovely creation resemble the dark side of the moon by serving time.