Vegetarian Thanksgiving: Buttercup Squash Pie

 

When I heard that my favorite ice cream shop, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream had a new buttercup squash flavor for fall, I knew right away that I had to find myself a buttercup squash and make something out of it.

I had never heard of buttercup squash before this year, but everything about it seemed perfect for a fall dessert. It looks kind of like a green pumpkin on the outside, but the flesh is bright orange. 

The soft, creamy squash is one of the sweetest winter squash, so it is a perfect alternative to a pumpkin for pie. In fact, this pie tastes like a creamier, sweeter pumpkin pie.

I kept trying to take a picture of my beauty of a squash and my daughter kept trying to wrap it up in the cloth napkin it was sitting on. She kept saying “baby pumpkin, rocky baby pumpkin”. She makes it hard to get anything done quickly, but she sure does make life wonderful.

In fact, she was quite enamored with this squash from beginning to end. I caught her eating from my photo shoot piece with a fork she got herself when I was distracted with something else, saying “mmmm….pie”. So this pie has her stamp of approval!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Ingredients::

• 1 buttercup squash (you will need two cups of pureed squash)
• 1/2 C. water
• 1 round of pie dough (Click HERE for my pie crust tutorial)
• 2 eggs
• 1 C. packed light brown sugar
• 1 TBSP. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 TBSP. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Wash and slice the buttercup squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Place the squash face down in a baking dish and pour the water around the squash in the bottom of the dish. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until the squash is soft and can be pierced with a fork. Once it is cool, scoop out the flesh of the squash and pulse it in a food processor or blender. You can do this step a couple days ahead of time. You will need 2 cups of squash puree and you will probably have extra depending on the size of the squash. You can freeze the rest for later or use it in tacos or smoothies or soup.

2. Roll out pie dough into a large circle and place in a pie pan. Crimp the edges and poke the bottom all over with a fork. Keep in mind that my pie crust recipe (which you can find HERE) does need some time to rest in the fridge before rolling it out, so plan accordingly. Once you get the crust in the pan, stick it in the freezer to keep the butter cold. Preheat the oven to 450 F.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the squash puree, eggs, brown sugar, flour, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and evaporated milk until smooth. Take the pie crust out of the freezer and place the whole pie pan on a rimmed cookie sheet. Pour the filling into the crust.

4. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 F. and bake for 50 minutes more. Half way through, cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning. You will know the pie is finished when a toothpick comes out clean and the middle only jiggles slightly when the pie is shaken. It may need a little bit more time, but remember that it will continue to cook a little bit in the pan and will become more firm if you let it cool before cutting into it. For the best results, let it chill in the fridge over night. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Recipe by Edible Experiments