I am so excited to share this today! This recipe is from my grandma on my dad’s side of the family; I have no idea where she got it, but needless to say, it’s been around for a while.
Not only has this pie been a staple at Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, but this was the first pie I ever made! I remember it so vividly. I was 4 or 5 years old, and my mom was making this Pumpkin Chiffon pie for our family Thanksgiving get-together the next day. I really wanted to make one too, so I used all of the scraps/leftovers from my mom’s pie to make my own. I gathered up the little pieces of dough she cut off the edge of the pie crust, and pressed it into the bottom of a pie pan. I scraped the bottom of the cans and containers for leftover ingredients, added sugar and spices, and tried to make my pie look exactly like my mom’s. At the end of the night I put my pie in the refrigerator next to the one my mom made, and I was so sad. It didn’t look anything like hers. “Don’t worry,” she reassured me “you just have to let it sit overnight.” I was skeptical, but I believed her, and I went to bed.
The next morning, I jumped out of bed and ran to the refrigerator to check on my pie. She was right! The magic of letting it sit over night worked. I couldn’t believe it! My pie grew and it was even bigger than my moms! It was so excited! I told everyone I saw that day about my incredible baking experience. Of course, I now know that the “magic” was that my mom stayed up and made a second pie after I went to sleep, but it’s still one of my favorite childhood memories.
Fast forward about 30 years, to today, and I’m doing a practice run of this Pumpkin Chiffon Pie recipe for our family Thanksgiving this year. No pressure.
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 18 Graham Cracker Sheets
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Stick Butter Melted
Filling
- 2 Egg yolks
- 6 Tbsp pasteurized egg whites*
- 1 Cup Sugar, divided
- 1/2 of a 15 ounce can of Pumpkin
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk
- 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin
- Whipped Topping
*Edited: The original recipe (which is very old) calls for 2 eggs separated- the egg yolks are added to the pumpkin mixture and the egg whites are whipped and added later. The egg whites in this recipe are not cooked, so to make this safe to eat, I’ve updated this recipe to include using pasteurized egg whites instead.
Instructions
Crust
This is the one thing I decided to change this year. I’ve just never really liked the regular pastry crust with this pie, so I decided to try it with a graham cracker crust. I think it turned out really well!
Preheat oven to 325°. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor or blender until they’re broken down into fine crumbs (you should have about 3 cups).
Add sugar and salt, and pulse once or twice just to combine. Add butter and pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand.
Pour the mixture into a pie pan. Using a measuring cup or the bottom of a glass, press the crumbs to the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
Just in case anyone is wondering, I didn’t switch pie pans– I have pictures from two different times I’ve made this.
Filling
In a medium sauce pan- stir together egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar, pumpkin, salt, evaporated milk, and pumpkin pie spice. Cook until the mixture thickens (it will bubble a little, be sure to stir frequently). Soak gelatin in 1/4 cup of water until dissolved (just a few seconds) and stir in pumpkin mixture.
While the pumpkin mixture is cooling: Use hand-held or stand mixer to beat egg whites until soft peak stage (do not try to do this by hand, trust me).
Slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar while still beating egg whites. Continue beating until you’re able to form very stiff peaks (this could take anywhere from 5-10 minutes).
Fold egg white mixture into cooled pumpkin mixture. I added about a third of the egg white mixture at a time.
Pour filling into graham cracker crust. Cover and chill overnight.
Top with whipped topping before serving.
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 18 Graham Crackers
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Stick Butter Melted
Filling
- 2 Eggs yolks (beaten slightly)
- 6 Tbsp Pasteurized egg whites
- 1 Cup Sugar, separated
- 1/2 15 ounce can 100% Pumpkin
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk
- 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin
- Whipped Topping
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat Oven to 325 degrees
- Pulse graham crackers in a food processor or blender until they’re broken down into fine crumbs (you should have about 3 cups).
- Add sugar and salt, and pulse to combine.
- Add butter and pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand.
- Pour the mixture into a pie pan.
- Using a measuring cup or the bottom of a glass, press the crumbs to the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
Filling
- In a medium sauce pan- stir together egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar, pumpkin, salt, evaporated milk, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Soak gelatin in 1/4 cup of water until dissolved (just a few seconds) and stir in pumpkin mixture.
- Cook until the mixture thickens (it will bubble a little, be sure to stir frequently).
- Let the mixture cool.
- Use hand-held or stand mixer to beat egg whites until soft peak stage.
- Slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar while still beating egg whites.
- Continue beating until very stiff peaks.
- Fold into cooled mixture.
- Pour filling into graham cracker crust.
- Cover and chill overnight (or at least for 4 hours).
- Top with whipped topping before serving.
Great recipe!