Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

I love Pumpkin Pie! I made one a few years ago following the recipe on the Libby's can, and it was good, but it wasn't as good as Costco's, so I never made one again. I've seen a couple of recipes floating around for Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie, but all of them called for evaporated milk, and I wanted to try something completely from scratch. I kept the recipes in mind, and last Friday when I decided to make homemade apple butter for the first time, I decided I would make an Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie for a church potluck on Sunday. I thought about making the pumpkin puree myself, since it is so easy, but I couldn't find any decent pie pumpkins. So, I used a can. It's even easier, and their is less water content than if you make it yourself, so it takes some of the guesswork out of the process. No worrying about a pie that won't set, or soggy crust. I got a lot of compliments on this pie. We did have 2 pieces left over, and they were even better the next day. I think this pie would make an excellent addition to your Thanksgiving table. It's also easy enough to be a special treat weeknight Fall dessert for your family.

Ingredients:
1 - 9 inch pie crust
1/4 cup white sugar
1 TBS cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1 cup of apple butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of milk
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place the pie crust dough into your pie dish and prick several holes with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes. This is called blind baking and it helps to keep the crust from getting soggy. Remove the crust from the oven.

To make the filling, place the white sugar, cornstarch, and spices in a large bowl, stir to combine. When making liquid fillings like this, combining the spices with the sugar before adding the wet ingredients helps ensure that the pieces get dispersed throughout and that they don't clump together.

Add the the pumpkin and apple butter to the sugar and spice mixture, stir to combine. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk into the milk. Add this to the rest of the filling and stir until smooth. The extra egg yolk helps keep the filling from cracking.

Pour the filling into the pie crust. Place the pie onto a baking sheet and put it in the oven. Though I've never had it happen with a pumpkin pie, pie fillings can sometimes bubble up and over, and I hate cleaning my oven, it's much easier to clean a baking sheet.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 45 minutes. The filling should be set and no longer jiggly in the middle. Let it cool on the counter for an hour or so, and then place it in the fridge to cool completely. No pumpkin pie is complete without some whipped cream!