This pie is really from a couple of different recipes. The first one I found here on rec.food.cooking (author?), and the crust is Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee (easy to make) and the nutty touch in the crust is an improvised touch, from another pie I ate. The crust is worth it. It would be just as good with a regular pumpkin "custard."
Alaskan Pumpkin Pie
Recipe brought back from Kodiak, Alaska by Mary Scott Springer in 1947 Note: Mom recommends you make each pie separately; don't multiply recipe to make more.
Ingredients
1 9-inch baked pie shell, cooled 3 eggs 1-2 cup milk 1-1-4 cups canned pumpkin (1-2 of large can) 1 cup sugar (1-2 cup at beginning, 1-2 cup at end) (I only used the first sugar) 1-2 teaspoon each salt, ginger, cinnamon 1 tablespoon gelatine (1 envelope unflavored plain gelatine ie Knox)
Directions
1. Separate 3 eggs. Save whites for later.
2. Beat yolks together with 1-2 cup milk. Add pumpkin and 1-2 cup sugar, salt, and spices. Mix well.
3. Cook mixture in double boiler until it stiffens (usually about 5 - 10 minutes)
4. While mixture is cooking, soak gelatine in 1-4 cup cold water to form a gelatine paste.
5. Remove mixture from heat, add gelatine, and mix. Allow mixture to cool well (place in refrigerator to speed up).
6. Beat egg whites to form stiff white stuff. Fold in cool pumpkin mixture and 1-2 cup of sugar.
7. Pour the filling into the prebaked, cooled pie crust and chill at least two hours before serving.
Patee Brisee (crust)
Pinched from Martha Stewart's Martha Stewart Cookbook. "This crust, if worked correctly, does not 'puff up.' Browns nicely in a 400 oven, and when brushed with a glaze turns glossy but never becomes tough." (makes two bottom crusts)
2.5 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 1-2 lb cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1-4 to 1-2 cup ice water 5 tablespooons candied ginger, coarsely minced 3-4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped 1-2 cup brown sugar 2-3 tablespoons butter, melted 1-2 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or two table knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water, drop by drop, just til the dough holds together without becoming wet or sticky; test the dough at this point by squeezing a small amount together. If it is too crumbly, add more water.
Turn the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Grasping the ends of the plastic wrap with your hands, press the dough into a flat circle. This makes roling easier than if the pastry is chilled as a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least an hour.
Mix the candied ginger, nuts, and brown sugar together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Melt the butter, and add the butter and cinnamon to the brown sugar mixture. I've pulsed this in a food processor to give it a more uniform, chunky consistency but you don't have to. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pie crust. Chill 20 minutes or more.
Press foil into the pie crust and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil. Poke any bubbles with a fork and continue baking until golden, about 6 minutes.
