Great Grandma Barton's Pumpkin Pies

I don't actually enjoy pumpkin pie.  I eat one very small piece on Thanksgiving each year, and it has to be a tiny piece cut from one of the two pies I make for Thanksgiving each year. It's the recipe my great grandma, Marjorie Barton, used.  It's the only recipe my Grandpa Barton would allow to be used.  It's the recipe I made, starting at around age 12, when I began making the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dinner each year.  I would spend the night with my Grandma Barton the night before Thanksgiving to help her with dinner preparations.  My job became making the pies.  Over the years, the family grew to the point that I was making 5 pumpkin pies every "Thanksgiving Eve" in order for there to be enough pie for everyone to get their fill and there to still be one left to eat throughout the weekend with the rest of the Thanksgiving leftovers. 

My Grandma Barton passed away in 2006, but the tradition lives on.  I have continued to make the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving every year.  But now, I only need to make 2, which is what the original recipe was written to be.  The secret (that's not so secret now) is there is NO GINGER in these pies.  I am not a fan of ginger, and apparently, my Great Grandma Barton and my Grandpa Barton weren't either because that's why this is the only recipe that was allowed to be used for the pumpkin pies each year. 

I hope you enjoy them!

Great Grandma Barton's Pumpkin Pie

Before beginning the pumpkin filling, prepare crust by placing in two 9" pie plates and finishing edges.  You can make a homemade crust, use a pie crust mix, or use refrigerated or frozen pre-made pie crusts.  You can also use my pie crust recipe, found here.

Ingredients

1 29 oz can or 2 15 oz cans of Libby's 100% Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

5 eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

12 oz. can evaporated milk

1/8 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, beat eggs really well.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir together until everything is well-combined.  Make sure to scrape the edges because the spices tend to stick to the sides of the bowl.  

Pour mixture evenly between the two pie crusts.  

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Store in refrigerator once it has cooled to room temperature.  (Putting them in the refrigerator too soon will cause the filling to separate from the crust around the edges.)

To serve, top with whipped cream or whipped topping. 

To make it the way my grandmas did it, mix up boxed Dream Whip to top it.