Thanksgiving Traditions...

Family lore states that this recipe was concocted by my grandmother (Charlotte, of peanut butter fudge fame) and her mother... in a time when people didn't waste a thing...

While making pies for a holiday feast, they ended up with extra pumpkin pie filling and extra apple pie filling... Not enough to make individual pies themselves, but too much to waste... So, in a moment of GENIUS they layered the apples and pumpkin and created the "PUMPLE PIE"... It just isn't the holiday's in our house without one...

Last year, I made a really AWESOME version and posted it on my "original" blog... I could not find any sugar pumpkins in the store this year, so I wasn't able to make it "from scratch" but I still wanted one... So I made an acceptable version...

Ingredients....

The players: Libby's Pumpkin Pie Filling (which I don't usually like to use, but I was in a hurry at the store and couldn't find the "real" pumpkin stuff so I made do with this), Pre-made Pie Crust (I usually like Marie Callender's but, again, I was in a hurry and it looked like they were out), Egg-Beaters (I've noticed that when I use pasteurized eggs in the carton, I don't get the allergic reaction that I get when I use whole eggs), Evaporated Milk, Butter, Pumpkin Pie Spice (I prefer this to cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, but you can use whatever spices in whatever quantities you want), Brown Sugar, 4 Apples (Braeburn and/or Fuji - I like mixing my apples for the best combo of flavor). I got the big can of pumpkin that makes one 9" Deep Dish pie... when making Pumple Pies, this particular recipe makes two pies.

First, peel, core, and shop the apples into bite-size pieces.

Next, melt some butter in a pot...

... and add the apples. Saute for about four minutes.

Then, add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of brown sugar and about 1/4 to 1/3 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice and a dash of salt.

Mix well and continue to cook until the apples are tender and the sauce starts to thicken.

Remove from the heat and let cool (I find this works best in a 9x13 glass cake pan, but use whatever you have)

While the apples are cooling, thaw the pie crust and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet (you'll be very sorry if you skip this step). Use a fork to dock the bottom of the pie crust (ie: poke a bunch of holes in it)

Next, add the pumpkin, eggs, and milk to a bowl (using the recipe on the can of pumpkin)

Mix thoroughly to combine.

When ready to assemble the pies, get all of the ingredients together and preheat the oven according to the directions on the can of pumpkin.

Add a layer of apple to the pie crust. You can spoon in a bit of the cooking liquid from the apples.

Ladle the pumpkin on top of the apples... The dark ring you see around the top of the crust is because I added too much apple cooking liquid before adding the pumpkin...

 Put in the oven and bake according to the directions on the can of pumpkin...

Just out of the oven... Now you see why the foil-lined pan is necessary... no one wants to clean their oven ON the holidays...

Let cool ... as you can see, the pumpkin slumped a bit... I did not precook the apples long enough for them NOT to shrink in the pie... Additional apple liquid bubbled up through the pumpkin... But that's only because I added too much to the apples upon assembly...

The finished product! You can see how the layers form...

If you don't want to try to make one of these yourself, just come on over to my house on Thanksgiving or Christmas... I will always have one (or two) around...

Of course, as always, if you have a favorite pumpkin pie filling recipe, apple pie filling recipe, pie crust recipe, etc, please feel free to use your favorites... This tutorial is more a "concept" than a strict recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!