Hey, kids! I don’t post recipes too often, but I think I might have inadvertently created the Holy Grail of pumpkin pies and I wanted to share.

I’m going to be honest right up front and say that achieving the very best results is going to take a little bit of work, because it involves making your own pumpkin puree instead of using the canned stuff. However, that’s really quite easy–just a bit time-consuming–and holy moses is it worth it.

And if that sounds entirely like too much effort, you can cheat and use canned pumpkin and still get a pretty amazing pie. I won’t tell.

To make your own puree, for pie or other purposes,* you’ll need a pumpkin in the 6-10 lb range–preferably of a variety that’s meant for cooking. Pumpkins called “sugar” or “pie” are fairly widely available at grocery stores and farmer’s markets in the fall, but also look for heirloom varieties like Jarrahdale (above), Queensland Blue, or Cinderella’s Coach.

Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out all of the seeds–save for toasting–and stringy stuff. Place face-down on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350F for about an hour, or until easily pierced with a fork. Cool, then scoop out the flesh with a big spoon or an ice cream scoop or whatever sort of utensil makes you happy.

Now for the boring part: Run all of the scooped-out flesh through a food mill. You can puree it with a food processor or blender if you have to, but running it through the mill makes a much finer puree, and the resulting pie is almost mousse-like. After it’s smoother than a stripper’s legs, line a strainer with a couple of layers of cheesecloth or a few disposable coffee filters (which is what I use), put it over a bowl, and drain the puree in the refrigerator overnight. You will be astonished at how much liquid comes out, so make sure whatever bowl you use will handle at least 3-4 cups without overflowing. Throw this out or use it to water houseplants or put it in a smoothie or whatever.

At this point, you can optionally concentrate it even more by putting it in a saucepan over very low heat and stirring it occasionally to prevent scorching for half an hour or so, to drive off more moisture. Cool, and refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to six months.

And now for the pie.

Crust
1 1/4 C all purpose flour
1/2 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 C (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 C chilled lard (preferable) or solid vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
3 T (about) ice water

Filling
20 oz pumpkin puree or 1 1/4 cans solid pack pumpkin (not premade pie filling)
1/2 C (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 C sugar
1 T all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground mace
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground allspice
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 C whipping cream
1/4 C whole milk
1/4 C bourbon
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Topping
1 C whipping cream, chilled
2 T powdered sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger

For Crust
Combine flour, sugar, salt, and ginger in food processor and whirl for a few seconds to blend. Add butter and lard and cut into flour using quick on/off turns until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle water, 1 T at a time, over mixture and blend in using on/off turns until the dough forms moist clumps. Gather dough into ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour (can be kept up to 3 days). Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.

Roll on a lightly-floured surface to a 12″ round. Transfer to a 10″ glass pie dish, fold edge under, and crimp decoratively. Pierce the bottom all over with a fork. Freeze at least 45 minutes (can be kept up to a week).

Preheat oven to 450F. Place the still-frozen crust on a cool baking sheet (to prevent the glass plate from cracking) and bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375F.

For Filling
Use a whisk or electric mixer to blend pumpkin, sugars, flour, and spices until smooth. Mix in eggs, cream, milk, bourbon, and vanilla until well blended. Pour into cooled pie shell.

Bake pie 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325F and continue baking about 30 minutes longer, or until filling does not move in the center when the pie plate is gently shaken. Transfer to rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day in advance; cover and chill.)

For Topping
Beat all ingredients in electric mixer until soft peaks form. Spoon dollops all over pie and smooth to cover. (Alternately, place whipped cream in a piping bag and pipe decoratively onto pie. Dollops are easier.) After topping is added pie can be kept, chilled, for up to 4 hours.

Sure, it’s more work than buying a premade pie, but when was the last time a premade pie made your eyes roll back in your head? I thought so. Give this a try!

*There are lots of marvelous things you can do with pureed pumpkin, like pumpkin butter, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin soup. I also stir a couple of tablespoons into the batter whenever Shadowboy asks for pancakes, thereby sneakily giving him extra nutrition. Muwahahahaha.