deep-dish cinnamon swirl pumpkin pie

It’s here, friends: the MOST EPIC pie to grace your table, just in time for Thanksgiving. Because why just make a regular pumpkin pie when you can make a Deep-Dish Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Pie? That’s a rhetorical question.

How are you feeling as we enter this holiday week? Stressed? Chill? Are you hosting this year or heading out to see family? Whatever your plans, I hope you can find peace and relaxation and plenty of moments in which to feel gratitude. Despite the turkey, despite the mashed potatoes, despite the desserts, this season really is all about being thankful and remembering the blessings we have.

For me, that’s much easier said than done. To be completely honest, I’ve been feeling pretty overwhelmed and lacking in peace and contentment. We’ve got a lot on our plates lately, and while I do apologize for being so cryptic (because it irks me when other people do this), I am hopeful that we can share more very soon (and I PROMISE you’ll be the first to know).

Regardless, this season for us is a bit of a roller coaster, and yet — I can and do still find so much to be thankful for. Including this tasty pumpkin pie.

Our plans for turkey day this year involve hanging out under palm trees and sunny skies in our RV down south, making a turkey breast in the slow cooker (heaven help me I hope this works) and serving it up with mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, jellied cranberry sauce (yep, the kind shaped like a can because I LOVE IT) and dinner rolls. And pumpkin pie for dessert, of course.

I wish it was actually THIS pumpkin pie, but alas, this one has already long since been devoured by yours truly and my family. We love and take our pumpkin pies seriously — so seriously, in fact, that my mom makes hers with real pumpkin every year. She roasts a pie pumpkin, then scoops out the soft filling and mashes it to a smooth orange puree, and it makes all the difference. While I have nothing against a good ol’ can of something (I mean, I just told you I like can-shaped cranberry sauce), the canned pumpkin is second-rate to the real deal. Mom was gracious enough to let me use some of her pumpkin puree for this very recipe when I made it at her house, and it took everything to the next level. Thanks, Mom!

There are several things I love most about this recipe: First, it’s a deep dish pumpkin pie, which means there is extra pumpkin pie filling goodness. Each bite is that much more pumpkin-y and if you’re more of a pie filling lover than a pie crust lover, you’ll appreciate this.

Second, though, that pie crust! I used my homemade all-butter pie crust — a go-to for most of my pie recipes — and its flakiness and buttery flavor did not disappoint. I blind-baked the crust for this recipe since I used extra filling and wanted to make sure the crust was nice and flaky all the way through. You’ll be glad you took this added step, trust!

And third, hello, little cinnamon swirls on top! How cute are you? You’re also delicious, like miniature cinnamon-roll-flavored pie cookies on top of a bigger pie. Plus, when you’re all hanging out on top of the pie, you show off in a big way.

If you haven’t settled on a pie recipe for the dessert spread for your feast this Thursday, I highly recommend giving this one a try. If you’re with friends or family during the week, you can even employ them to help you out with all the steps. And then you’ll all be thankful you took the time to make this tasty treat for Thanksgiving.

For us, we’ll be sitting at our little table in the RV, cozy and thankful for everything we have and looking forward to a few silver linings ahead (including probably making this pie again for Christmas, let’s be honest). I wish you and yours the best holiday. xo

*NOTE: Make sure to use a DEEP DISH pie plate, like this one. If you don’t have a deep dish pie plate, you can certainly use a regular one, but you won’t be able to fit in all the filling. Just pour in as much as will fit.

Deep-Dish Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Pie

• Author: Girl Versus Dough
• Prep Time: 4 hours 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour 40 mins
• Total Time: 6 hours 10 mins
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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For the pie crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 cup very cold water

For the filling:

• 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 egg
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk

For the cinnamon swirl topping:

• 1/2 pie crust recipe (1 disc)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch salt

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Instructions

1. Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt until well mixed. Add butter and pulse, drizzling in up to 1 cup cold water just until dough forms and butter is size of very small peas. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces; shape each piece into a flattened disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1-2 hours until well chilled.
2. Place one chilled disc on lightly floured surface (keep second disc in fridge until ready to use). Roll out disc to round about 2 inches larger than 9-inch DEEP DISH* pie plate; fold into quarters and transfer to pie plate. Gently ease crust into bottom and sides of pie plate. Trim edges to within 1 inch of pie plate edge; fold over and flute as desired. Place pie plate in freezer 15 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place sheet of parchment paper over chilled pie crust, then fill halfway with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 20 minutes. Remove beans and parchment paper, then bake 20 minutes more, covering crust edges with foil if getting too brown. Set pie crust aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
4. Make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin, egg, egg yolks, sugar and brown sugar until well mixed. Whisk in flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, cloves and pepper. Stir in evaporated milk until well combined. Pour filling into pie crust. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F 45-60 minutes until filling is nearly set (the edges of the filling shouldn’t jiggle, but the center can jiggle just slightly, almost like a cheesecake). Cover pie crust edges with foil while baking if getting too brown. Cool pie completely on cooling rack, about 2 hours.
5. Make the cinnamon swirl topping: Remove second disc of dough from fridge. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about a 1/4-inch-thick rough rectangle. In small bowl, stir butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Spread butter mixture evenly over pie dough all the way to edges. Tightly roll up pie dough into log. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
6. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Using very sharp knife, cut pie dough log into 1/4-inch slices (reshape with hands as needed into perfect rounds) and place on ungreased rimmed baking sheet. Freeze 15 minutes. Just before baking, if desired, sprinkle rounds with extra sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely on baking sheet.
7. Arrange cinnamon swirl rounds on top of fully cooled pumpkin pie. Pie is best served the day it’s made.

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Keywords: Thanksgiving, Turkey Day, Christmas, Holidays