Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Mama passed this down to me shortly after Dad and I were married.  I've been making this wonderful pie without fail for many years now.  The recipe calls for a walnut crust, which I've only made once.  It was great.  I shy away from making the crust myself - mainly because the Pillsberry refrigerated pastry shells are so close to home-made I figured why bother?  At first when I began using the store bought pastry shells, I sat in anticipation of someone complaining (hint hint, Dad!!).  Not one complaint -- in fact, I was getting compliments on my "flaky" pastry!  Why do the work when it's already done, right?  It's more of a time saver than anything else.  You can whip up a great pie in no time if that step is out of the way.   Sometime, try the walnut shell -- it complements the pumpkin flavor fabulously!

Ingredients:
In double boiler over medium-low heat, combine:
*1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2/ teaspoon each:  salt, nutmeg, cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
Stir in:  1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (I use Libby's)
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cup evaporated milk

Directions:
Mix above ingredients well and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Set aside to cool.  Cooks in about 10 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat:
2 egg whites
gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until very stiff.  Fold into cooled pumpkin mixture and pour into baked and cooled pie shell.  Chill.  Serve with whipped cream.

Walnut Pie Shell Ingredientsl:
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
2 to 3 tablespoons water
2 cups of finely chopped walnuts

On a floured surface, roll pastry (flour rolling pin) to form a circle that is larger than 9-inch -- preferably 11 inches or so.

Directions on how to correctly flute the pie shell:
The purpose of fluting or crimping a single pie shell is to hold up the edge so the shell does not slump while baking.  So the key is to build up a tight and nice high edge completely around the entire pie dish. After rolling pastry into a circle, assemble tightly in the 9-inch pie pan -- allowing the dough to "overhang" the rim of the dish.

Now -- using a ruler, measure a 1-inch overhang around the edge of the dish using the ruler itself to mark the pastry for cutting.  Using kitchen shears, trim excess away. Save the excess, as it may come in handy for patching or adding to the pastry shell if needed.*

Take the 1-inch overhang and roll it under itself, so you have a rolled "cylinder" that rests on the rim of the pie plate. By rolling the dough under rather than just folding it once, you create a higher edge, which gives you a little more to work with when you're crimping.

Now you're ready to crimp the crust. Work with one hand on the inside of the edge, and one hand on the outside, and use the index finger of your inside hand to push the dough between the thumb and index finger of your outside hand to form a U or V shape. Then, continue the same motion all around the pie plate, spacing your flutes about an inch apart.   You can also use fork tines to crimp the edge of the pastry around the entire top edge -- this is easier and faster than the U or V shape "scalloped" edge fluting.

*If you notice as you're going along that you didn't trim things up quite perfectly and your crust is a little sparse in one spot, don't worry.  It is easy to fix. Take a bit of your trimmed scrap, wet it with a drop or two of water, and attach it to the sparse area by pressing it firmly into place, and then just keep crimping.

When you've worked your way all around the pie, the last thing to do is prick the crust all over the bottom and sides with a fork, and then chill it for at least an hour before baking, which helps the crust keep its shape in the oven.

HOW TO PRINT:  If you want to print this recipe, simply click on the title and it is ready to print.

*You can find unflavored gelatin in the isle at the grocery store where jello is located.