Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie

An all-butter crust baked crisp before the filling goes in, then canned pumpkin cooked down with brown butter, dark brown sugar and warm spice. Silky, deep orange, no cracks.

Cook the canned pumpkin in the brown butter with the sugar and spices for 12 minutes before it meets the eggs. It drives off a lot of water and takes the raw, tinny taste out of the can. Then bake it low and pull it while the middle 2 inches still wobble. A pie that bakes until the center is firm cracks as it cools.

Ingredients

• Crust
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter, very cold, in 1/2-inch cubes
• 5 tbsp ice water, plus more as needed
• Filling
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• To serve
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped soft with 1 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Toss in the cold butter and press each cube flat between your fingers into thin sheets. Stop when the biggest pieces are the size of a pea.
2. Drizzle in 4 tablespoons of the ice water and toss with a fork. Squeeze a handful. If it holds together, stop. If it crumbles, add the last tablespoon. Press into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
3. On a floured counter, roll the dough into a 13-inch round. Ease it into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate without stretching it. Trim to a 1/2-inch overhang, fold it under and crimp. Freeze 30 minutes.
4. Heat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the lower third. Line the frozen crust with foil, pressing it into the corners, and fill to the top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 25 minutes.
5. Lift out the foil and weights. Bake until the bottom looks dry and the edges are light golden, about 10 minutes more. Raise the oven to 400°F.
6. While the crust bakes, melt the 4 tbsp butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium and cook, swirling, until it smells nutty and the solids turn brown, about 4 minutes. Add the spices and stir 15 seconds.
7. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar and salt. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom, until thick, glossy and darker, and the spoon leaves a trail, about 12 minutes.
8. Off the heat, whisk in the cream and milk, then the eggs, yolks and vanilla until smooth. Push it through a fine strainer for the silkiest pie. It should still be warm.
9. Pour the warm filling into the warm crust and set it on a sheet pan. Bake 10 minutes at 400°F.
10. Lower the oven to 300°F and bake until the edges are set, the middle 2 inches still wobble when you nudge the pan, and the center reads 175°F, 25 to 35 minutes. Cover the crust edge with foil if it browns too fast.
11. Cool on a rack at room temperature at least 4 hours so it sets. Serve with soft whipped cream. It keeps covered in the fridge for 2 days.