October 2020 – Continually Learning Academy | Professional Learning for Schools

Baking from scratch is so much fun and a great learning experience for kids. In this post, I will show you how to make your own pumpkin and butternut squash puree to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. Pumpkin pie made from pumpkin is great but I also like to make "pumpkin" pie using butternut squash! I personally think the butternut squash in place of pumpkin tastes even better! This recipe can be used with pumpkin puree or butternut squash puree. What ever you want to use would be great! To make this pie from scratch, you will need to make a pumpkin/butternut squash puree, a homemade crust, and the pie filling. Below are all the recipes you will need. Made from scratch Pumpkin Pie and Butternut Squash Pie Make a Puree First, you need to make a pumpkin puree. To make the best tasting pumpkin puree, use a pumpkin pie pumpkin. Materials Pumpkin Pie PumpkinBaking dishKnife and Cutting BoardBlender Directions Cut the top of the pumpkin, then cut the pumpkin in half. Make sure you have a sharp knife.Scoop out the inside "guts."Place the pumpkin cut side down in a baking dish. Add about an inch of water.Bake the pumpkin for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. When the pumpkin is done, check to make sure a fork can be easily poked through it and then take it out and let it cool.Scoop out the inside of the pumpkin and place it in a blender. Blend the pumpkin until smooth. You may need to add a little water if the pumpkin puree is too dry. Alternately, you could bake a butternut squash using the exact same method above. The Pumpkin could also be roasted instead, just put it on a baking sheet and roast at the same temperature and about the same time as above. Blending up the puree. Butternut Squash Puree on the left and Pumpkin Puree on the right. Pumpkin Pie Recipe Pie Crust 2 1/2 cups flour1/4 cup boiling water3/4 cup crisco1 tsp. salt Pumpkin Pie Filling 3/4 cup of brown sugar2 tsp cinnamon1 tsp ginger1/2 tsp nutmeg1/2 tsp cloves (optional)2 eggs beaten2 cups of pumpkin or butternut squash puree 12 oz can of evaporated milk Directions Boil water. Put Crisco in a bowl then add water. Stir until creamy. Put flour in mixture with salt. Just use enough flour to mix well. You might not need all the flour.Put the dough on a pastry towel dusted with flour. Roll out dough to the size of pie pan. Make sure there is enough to go up the sides. You may need to add flour while rolling it out if dough is sticky.Mix sugar and spices together. Add in puree and eggs.Gradually stir in evaporated milk.Pour filling into the prepared pie pan with crust.Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Materials Pie panRolling PinMixing BowlPastry towel or wax paper/parchment paper Tips This crust recipe will be enough for a deep dish pie or two small tin pans. If you have extra crust, you can make leaf designs on your pie.Roll out crust on a pastry towel, or you can use wax paper or parchment paper. Make sure to lightly dust flour on top before rolling so it doesn’t stick.When cooking with children, measure out ingredients and let your child mix them together. My toddler poured all the filling ingredients in the bowl and mixed it up. She also helped to mix the crust and rolled a little bit of the crust. If your child is older, this is a great time to learn to measure themselves. While cooking, talk to your child about what you are doing. Include them in the process. Name everything and introduce words to younger children and even incorporate math with measuring cups for older children! Making the pumpkin pie filling. Before baking and after baking. One pie is pumpkin and the other is butternut squash. The butternut squash is a little darker in color. I hope you are able to make your own pumpkin pie from scratch! Thank you for Continually Learning with us! Kyle and Sarah *We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.