Indian Autumn Pie

Indian Autumn Pie 

This recipe was under P for pie in the recipe box. 

One of my family's Thanksgiving traditions is to have a Pumpkin pie for dessert. When I found this recipe in the shoe box I thought it might end up being a new addition to our annual feast. There wasn't anything too strange about this recipe, but it does take a few steps so be sure you have some time on your hands to prepare it. Here's the original:

Indian Autumn Pie

1 10-inch pie shell

1 Cup butternut squash

1 8-ounce can whole yams, without syrup

2 Egg yolks

1/3 Cup dark brown sugar

½ Teaspoon each of cinnamon, allspice, and finely chopped almonds

1 Cup half-and-half cream

2 Egg whites

1. Bake freshly made pastry in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes. Let cool.

2. Use 1 cup of fresh squash that has been simmered in chunks a short time; add next six ingredients, beating until smooth.

3. Whip egg whites and fold into batter. Fill pie shell.

4. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven on middle rack for 20 minutes.

5. Serves six. Use dollop of Cool Whip on each serving.

First things first, set your oven to 450 degrees and put the pie shell in for 15 minutes. I used a store bought pre-made shell, but you can make your own if you'd like. 

 When the shell has browned and become somewhat crunchy it is ready to come out of the oven. Make sure it is completely cooled before you  fill it with the pie filling. 

While your pie shell is cooking in the oven you can get your butternut squash ready. The recipe suggestions you simmer it in chunks, but I cheated and cooked mine in the microwave. It's simple; cut your squash in half like this:

Depending on the size of your squash you may want to cook both sides, but mine was quite large so I only cooked one. Place it skin side up on your microwave tray and cook it on regular power for 15 minutes. You will end up with warm and squishy squash! 

When the squash is ready, at it to a mixing bowl along with the yams, egg yolks, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, all spice, almonds, and half-and-half cream. 

Beat the ingredients together until you have a smooth texture. 

Set aside the mixture. In another  bowl, add the 2 egg whites. 

Beat them on high until soft peaks form. Be careful not to over beat them. 

Carefully fold the egg whites into the filling mixture. Use a spatula for this step so it remains fluffy. 

Make sure the egg whites are incorporated well. Your mixture should look like this:

When the filling is ready; go ahead and pour it into the cooled pie shell. Be sure to adjust the temperature of your oven to 425. 

Since my pie crust was already pretty crispy I made a tin foil ring to protect it from cooking any more in the oven. 

After cooking for 20 minutes you should have a lovely autumn pie! 

If you didn't know the ingredients of this pie I bet you would think it was pumpkin!

I gave this recipe a 5 out of 5 on the yummy scale!

It was fairly easy to make and tasted great! I would recommend baking this and seeing if anyone can guess what the ingredients actually are!