Pumpkin Pie. From A Pumpkin.

I've always been enchanted by the adorable little "sugar" pumpkins in the store this time of year. And I always think "I should make a pie out of one!" Then, I forget, get into a rush, and end up making pumpkin pie from a can. And it's always delicious and no one complains that my pumpkin pie comes from a can. Because I'm busy. But this year, I picked up a cute little pie pumpkin and decided I was going to set aside a large chunk of time and figure out how to make pie out of it. But guess what? It's easy. Like easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy easy. And freakin' amazingly delicious. So, do yourself a favor and make one already. Then, go get a manicure with the extra time you set aside for pie-baking but won't need.

INGREDIENTS

Pie dough of your choice (I'm not a traditional pie-crust person, so I always make a graham cracker crust. Make what ever crust suits your taste here).
1 medium-sized pie pumpkin (aka 'sugar pumpkin) - enough to yield 2 cups of flesh
3 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Spice blend (trust me on this one, it's amazing)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare pie crust per directions of your crust choice.
Preheat oven to 400.
Slice pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds and stringy pieces.
Place pumpkin cut sides down onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until the flesh is soft and pulling away from the skin - approx 40 mins.
Once the pumpkin is roasted, make the pumpkin puree: scoop out the flesh and puree in a blender or food processor. You can also mash by hand.
Increase oven temp to 425.
Whisk eggs and both sugars together until smooth. Add 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, cream, vanilla, spices, and salt. Stir until well blended.
Pour pumpkin filling into the pie shell and place shell onto a baking sheet. You may cover the edges in aluminum foil to keep it from burning.
Bake pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick or thin knife plunged it into the pie, about 2 inches from the edge, comes out clean. Rotate once or twice during baking.
Once it's done, cool on a wire rack for 2 hours or until room temperature.
Serve alone or top with whipped cream.
Pie will store in refrigerator up to 3 days after cooking - but it never lasts that long around my house!