Halloween Spooktacular Part 2: Pumpkin Pies

I have been so ill recently. Ill enough that I haven't been able to blog properly, or do much really - and I've hated it. I really enjoy blogging and I've been desperate to get back to it. So I wanted my first post back to be something sweet and comforting.

Despite Halloween being nearly two weeks ago my local supermarkets are still selling pumpkins, albeit for a heavily discounted price, and I do love a bargain. I had planned on using the pumpkin I carved for Halloween night but the poor soul looked a little bit worse for wear, so I picked up a brand new pumpkin from Waitrose, carved it up and got ready to make yummy pumpkin pies to cheer myself up.

Comfort Pumpkin Pies
Time to make: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cost per portion: £0.44
Portions of your 5 a day: 1
Calories per portion: 148

You will need:

• 700g pumpkin, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 125g butter
• 200ml milk (I used soya milk but you can use cow's milk)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin spice (1/2 tbsp cinnamon, 1/4 tbsp ground ginger, 1/4 tbsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice)
• 50ml water
• 100g digestive biscuit crumbs
• Roasting tin
• Tin foil
• Cake or cupcake tin
• Mixing bowl

Preheat the oven to 200c. Carve the pumpkin into chunks, removing all the seeds and flesh. Place the pumpkin chunks skin side up on a roasting tray and sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin spice. Add 50ml of water to the tray and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the pumpkin is cooking, combine the digestive biscuit crumbs, 75g of sugar, 100g of melted butter, and half a teaspoon of cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

If you are making them in cupcake tins, roll the mixture into 8-10 equal balls and press them into the shape you want your pie crusts to be in the cupcake molds - if you're making one pie crust, scoop the mixture into the tin and do the same.

Bake in the oven with the pumpkin for 10 minutes, then remove both. Allow the pie crust(s) to cool and harden for an hour. When the pumpkin is cool, remove the flesh from the skin and push it through a sieve to remove the excess moisture and mash into a puree (you can also blend).

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, the milk, 125g caster sugar, 25g butter, and the rest of the pumpkin spice in a bowl, and then add the pumpkin.

 Pour the pumpkin pie mix into the pie crust(s), and bake in the oven at 180c for 45 minutes. Remove and leave to cool.

 I took two slices of this to my partner's house and we had a lovely evening watching Mock the Week reruns and eating Pumpkin Pie - both of us have been really unwell recently and so it was lovely to just switch off and stop worrying about everything. Yum!