Friendsgiving is a great time to remember the pieorities in your life. Why are we thankful for pie?

1. Pie will never call you fat
2. Pie won’t stand you up
3. Pie doesn’t judge when you take a second helping of stuffing
4. Pie won’t make Wine feel like a third wheel
5. Pie will always love you

Cue this year’s epic Friendsgiving, otherwise known as the pre-game to Thanksgiving—where we demolished not one, but two pie classics: pecan (courtesy of Meg) and pumpkin.

I’d love to share a beautiful photo of both pies side by side, but I’ll be completely honest with you: I have a one track mind. We served and ate all of both pies before even remembering we had a camera, so just trust me on this one.

By “all of both pies”  I literally mean there was not one crumb left to photograph so you’ll have to settle for a nice photo of our Friendsgiving banner, and dream about what Meg’s pecan pie must have looked like.

Thanksgiving round two is only four days away—so happy early Thanksgiving from our pie video and this pumpkin pie recipe to your table full of turkey. Until next month!

Friendsgiving Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

1 prepared double all-butter crust
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 2/3 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch ground cloves
1 tsp molasses
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup carrot juice

Directions

Make the crust: Roll out your prepared double pie crust, arrange in pie pan, and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Then pre-bake (or “blind bake”) your crust.

Prep the filling: In a heavy-bottomed skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Continue to cook; the butter will foam and then begin to turn golden, then nut brown; whisk occasionally. When the butter is nut brown, immediately add the brown sugar, whisk, and then carefully add the water to loosen.

Bring the mixture to a boil and continue simmering until the mixture smells caramelized and starts to darken. Slowly add the heavy cream (the mixture will bubble rapidly) and whisk until smooth. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pre-baked pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and yolks together with the salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, blend the pumpkin puree with the allspice, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, molasses, and lemon juice until smooth. With the machine running on low, stream the brown-butter butterscotch through the food processor’s feed tube and process until combined. Stream in the egg mixture, followed by the milk and carrot juice; blend until smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides with a rubber scraper. Strain the filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a separate bowl, pressing through with a rubber scraper.

Pour into your pre-baked pie crust. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, rotating 180 degrees when the edges start to set 30 to 35 minutes through baking. The pie is finished when the edges are set and puffed slightly and the center is no longer liquid but still quite wobbly. Be careful not to over bake or the custard can separate; the filling will continue to cook and set after the pie is removed from the oven.

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, 2 to 3 hours. Serve slightly warm, at room temperature, or cool. The pie will keep refrigerated for 2 days or at room temperature.

Happy Friendsgiving!