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Spending a Tuesday night roasting and pureeing an 18 pound pumpkin might seem crazy to some, but when a girl has a hankering for pumpkin pie, and there's a shortage of Libby's at the local grocer what else were we to do?

Nervous about the upcoming holiday season and the threat of pumpkin-less shelves, we decided to kick it old school and make our own pumpkin puree. To judge the results, we challenged our coworkers to a blind taste test, to see if homemade could stand up to the old standby. We baked two pies, both using the recipe found on Libby's label. One was made with our puree, the other with canned.

But before anything else, we needed to conquer the task of pumpkin puree from scratch.

Task 1: Pick a pumpkin. Uncertain about which bakes up the best pie, we turned to Frank Hodges, of Hodges Dairy Farm. Farmer Hodges highly recommended the Cinderella variety as the best baking pumpkin. Always up for a challenge we decided to take on the monstrous squash.

Task 2: Cut and roast the pumpkin.* Don't be discouraged by the size. Just hack into it. We recommend small wedges. They're easier to cut and roast faster. When we cut our pumpkin open we were expecting your average, stringy jack-o-lantern innards, but were pleasantly surprised with a sweet smelling, cantaloupe-like flesh. Dubious when we started, our expectations rose.

Task 3: Puree the roasted pumpkin.** Once the slices are fork tender, it's time to remove the peels. Scoop the flesh into a food processor (If you don't have one, go get one now. You'll thank us later, promise.) and pulse until smooth. Ours was quite watery, we drained the pureed pumpkin in cheesecloth to remove any excess liquid. We won't lie, ours wasn't as thick as the canned stuff. Our nerves set in, but we forged ahead knowing there would be hell to pay if we showed up to work pie-less.

 

Task 4: Make a pie (or two). Follow your recipe of choice. We let Libby guide us from here. Our home made puree filling was considerably thin. A frantic Google search for “runny pumpkin pie filling” led us to some questionable advice of adding boxed pudding mix to the filling. With a deadline approaching and a pantry stocked with pudding we crossed our fingers and went for it. With a quick taste of the newly thickened filling, the advice worked.

 

 

 

 

Five hours later, our pies are in the oven, and the final results of our taste test will have to wait until tomorrow. For now, rest assured that if the shelves where the canned pumpkin lives are bare, you can turn to your kitchen and create a fine pie from scratch. Your grandmother would be proud, we just won't tell Libby.

Now that we've got a surplus of homemade pumpkin puree on our hands, let us know what we should make next. Leave your favorite pumpkin recipe in the comments as we can never have too many pumpkin recipes on hand.

*Roast at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until flesh is fork tender.
**Our 18-pound pumpkin yielded 3-4 cups of puree.

Update

The results are in!  WFAE staffers placed their votes (only after we wrestled the bowl of fresh whipped cream out of their arms).  Our homemade pumpkin puree pie won 11 - 6.  Apparently that pudding mix really did save the day!  Now it's your turn to head over to Hodges Dairy Farm and pick yourself out a Cinderella pumpkin.  Be sure to let us know what you think of your pumpkin pie with homemade pumpkin puree.  Good luck and bon appetite!

Looks fantastic! I will have to try make it sometime!

It's good to know the original is still good and everything doesn't have to be from a can.

Very informative--you make it sound so easy, I can't wait to try using REAL pumpkin in this year's Thanksgiving pies :) I am a "bake from scratch" person and have often felt like I was "cheating" when using canned anything!

Speaking of pumpkin bread, I've never met one I didn't like. Last year I made the Pumpkin Walnut Bread from a lovely cookbook called The Art and Soul of Baking. You can find the recipe online here: http://www.gourmet.com/cookbookclub/recipes/2008/10/pumpkin-walnut-bread Pumpkin makes wonderful bread. If you've never made a loaf, I highly recommend it. The possibilities are endless!

Georgia- The puree is wonderful in soup. If you're looking for a basic recipe, I would suggest this one from the Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/NU00424 The bonus is that it's very healthy! Personally, I prefer something a bit more exotic. If you feel up for some spice, I would suggest the Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup from Food and Wine magazine. It is spiced with all the flavors on India. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pumpkin-and-yellow-split-pea-soup A quick search of epicurious.com returned several recipes for pumpkin soup. And the Joy of Cooking offers a recipe for pumpkin soup with tarragon, a common pairing. Whatever you decide on will be delicious! Enjoy!

Great article! I am not a dessert person but pumpkin pie is a must for me at Thanksgiving. I don't have the recipe but my mom makes the best Pumpkin Bread. It is so good heated. I add some butter but it certainly doesn't need it. Yummy.

Great post! The pictures of the roasted pumpkin look awesome!

Why oh WHY do I not have cream cheese on hand?? I mean I had instant pudding mix for heavens sake... and 4 cups of powdered sugar (is that odd? hmm). I suppose the pumpkin dip might have to wait for next week. But it's totally on the agenda. Thanks for the recipe Cathy. And get your ginger snaps ready Jennifer!

Yumm, pumpkin dip. I think we are up for another taste test. Jennifer

Good job Beth and Jeannie! With that extra filling try making some pumpkin dip (great with ginger snaps or graham sticks) - 4 cups powdered sugar 2 8oz. pkg cream cheese 30 oz. pumpkin pie filling 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. ground ginger Combine sugar and cream cheese, beating until blended. Beat in remaining ingredients. Store in refrigerator. Makes four cups.

I like pumpkin pie, but I love to use pureed pumpkin for pumpkin spice cake. I really love the Food and Wine recipe from November 2007. With the caramel cream cheese icing, it is divine. I will have to try it with homemade pumpkin puree.

I wouldn't keep frozen pumpkin puree more than a few months. Properly pressure canned, it's good for a year!

H- You can definitely freeze the leftover puree. Make sure to drain the excess liquid before freezing. We suggest freezing the leftovers in small, measured amounts (3/4 - 1 cup) so that you know how much is in each container or bag. The puree can be kept frozen for several months.

Yes, karenkazan, there was whipped cream. Real, whipped this morning, fluffy deliciousness. Ummm, Elizabeth, may I have another bowl please?

This is great! Do you have any idea how long the puree will keep if frozen?

I love these "back to the earth" stories. It revitalizes my spirit to know that, even in these days of email and iphones, we still can make the really important things in life. BTW, was there whipped cream to top these beauties?

Great Pumpkin tale---even a little frightening at the thought of a "runny" pie filling---EEEEW! Having tasted both pies---I like the filling of one and the crust of the other. Congrats to WFAE's "Pie Girls" for a wonderful culinary experience from the farm to the table!

It looks like one pie was made in a tart pan and the other in a pie plate. I wonder if this will make a difference - it certainly has less crust than the other.

Love it! Adorable pumpkin-colored apron, too!

Look forward to the results. Can the pumpkin puree be used in a soup? Would love your recommendations on a good pumpkin soup recipe!

Great post - Making homemade pumpkin puree looks like fun. My all time favorite pumpkin pie recipe is my grandmother's pumpkin chiffon pie - It gives you the pumpkin taste with a light creamy filling. I wonder how that would turnout with homemade pumpkin puree.