I’m not much of a pie baker. My attempts in the past have either ended with soggy bottoms (raw crust) or filling that is too soft.
Imagine my delight when this version of Butternut Squash Pie turned out lovely!
This particular vegetable has been unknown to me until last winter when a friend blessed me with a large butternut squash from her garden and I made Butternut Squash Bisque.
It was fantastic!
If you’ve never tried this soup, please give it a go. I promise you that it is rich, flavorful, nutritious, and so worth the effort. I have purchased more gourds to repeat the soup this winter.
Back to the pie.
After purchasing a few of these squashes at a farmer’s market, I decided to give them a chance in a different recipe – mainly pie.
The recipe I chose came from a spiral-bound copy of The Good Life Sampler Cookbook from the Women’s Christian Service Council of the Church of God in Zanesville, IN (1984).
The directions seemed simple, but I discovered a few secrets for a successful pie:
The recipe calls for three cups of pulp. The easiest way I found to create this was to slow-cook it. If you have a large squash, cut it in half.
Place halves in large crockpot with 2 cups of water and cook on high 3-4 hours.
The skin should be soft enough to easily separate from pulp. Drain and let cool.
My squash provided the required three cups for the pie. You may need smaller gourds to fill a 10-inch crust.
The recipe didn’t specify if the crust should be baked or unbaked. I purchased a frozen crust and after it thawed, baked it and let it cool, then poured the filling and baked it again. The edges probably could have been wrapped with foil to prevent burning, but we don’t eat that part of the crust anyway.
As for cream, I used 1% milk with great results.
The recipe specified 3 packages Equal, but any type of artificial sweetener could work.
My pie needed 70 minutes for the center to be a little jiggly and the outer edges firm but not dried out.
Man, the taste caught me off-guard. It looked like pumpkin but I was not expecting it to taste almost identical. I like pumpkin pie with a little whipped topping and nothing else – no nuts, not a lot of spices or other adornments. This really fit the bill.
As an added bonus, this is an economical recipe. The cost of the squash was $1.50. Two eggs cost approximately 50 cents, while the crust was $1.00. The cost of the rest of the ingredients was negligible.
Not a bad amount for a great tasting pie that produced eight servings. Plus, this works for my daughter who has a vegetarian lifestyle.
I am so proud of myself for mastering this recipe. Try it yourself and see if you can’t manage one with equally fantastic results.
The meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday
At the time you read this, I’m in a different part of the country visiting family. We are so glad to be together, especially when we didn’t know if air traffic would be available.
I plan to hold my new grandbaby for about 5 hours daily and let everyone else do the cooking. I’ll provide instructions if needed, but otherwise, I’m on Grandma duty.
I’m thankful for so much this year. While I still dearly miss my husband and our kids miss their dad, we are glad to lean on each other and create new memories in a different place with new people.
Friends have been a strength for me this past year as well. God, as always, is my Rock. I couldn’t get through life without Him.
What are you planning for the holiday? What are you thankful for? Whatever it is, I hope this national time of celebration brings you joy.
Happy Thanksgiving!
**
1984 Butternut Squash Pie
3 cups cooked squash
2 whole eggs
½ cup sugar
3 packages Equal
¾ cup canned cream
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
In large mixing bowl mix squash and sugar.
Add eggs and vanilla and continue mixing.
In separate small bowl combine cornstarch, Equal, and cream.
Add to squash mix.
Pour ingredients into pie shell.
Bake at 375 degrees approximately 60-75 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Yield: 8 servings
Vintage Eats of Kayleen Reusser 
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