Ginger Pumpkin Meringue Pie

I found this in my BH&G magazine and just HAD to make it. I still had a pre-made crust in my freezer so I used that instead of making the gingersnap-graham crust. It was still really good though!

1 pre-made crust or 1 gingersnap-graham crust, below
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Recipe Brown Sugar Meringue, below

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare Gingersnap-Graham Crust; bake 4 minutes. Cool on wire rack. For filling, in bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, ginger, salt and cinnamon. Add eggs.; lightly beat with fork to combine. Gradually stir in milk and maple syrup. Pour filling into pastry shell. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Uncover edges. Reduce oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully spread Brown Sugar Meringue over hot filling; seal to edge. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Loosely cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Gingersnap-Graham Crust:In large bowl combine 3/4 cup finely crushed gingersnaps (12 cookies), 1/2 cup finely crushed graham crackers (7 squares), and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter. Spread evenly on bottom and up the sides of 9-inch pie plate.

Brown Sugar Meringue:In large mixing bowl let 3 egg whites stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Beat on medium until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until mixture forms stiff peaks (tips stand straight).

This isn't the greatest picture, but you get the idea. And it was strange...it seems like the brown sugar sort of beaded up on top of the meringue once it cooled.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

While on the Decorating and Renovating board over on The Nest, nestie DianeTaylor posted this recipe. It calls for 4-5 large Granny Smith apples but I only used 1 large Granny Smith apple and 2 Empire apples and it was plenty. I saw it and just had to try it! It was so easy and really good! It made the house smell fabulous too. Enjoy!

Topping
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. flour

Filling
1-1/3 cup sour cream

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

3 tbsp. all purpose flour

4 or 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
Pie crust (you can make your own, or use a pre-made one from the refrigerator section of the grocery store — I used this) fitted into a deep-dish 9" or 10" pie plate and chilled

To make the topping, in a bowl blend the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and flour until the mixture is combined well. Cover and chill the topping.


To make the filling, whisk together the sour cream, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs, and flour until the mixture is smooth. Add the peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples and stir the filling and apples together.

Spoon the filling into the chilled shell and crumble the topping evenly over it.

Bake the pie on a baking sheet in the middle of a pre-heated 350-degree oven, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. (You might need to put a bit of tinfoil on top of the pie during the last 15 minutes to prevent the top from burning.) Transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely.