Amaretto Pumpkin Pie
Amaretto Pumpkin Pie! This decadent twist on pumpkin pie (without evaporated milk) is infused with almond flavor from sweet almond liqueur.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
For Crust
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup crushed amaretti cookies
- ¼ cup ice water
For Filling
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 2½ tablespoon amaretto liqueur
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For Praline Topping
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Make Crust
- Combine cold butter, flour and crushed amaretti cookies in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture is coarse and crumbly.
- Slowly pour in cold water while continuing to process (about 1 tablespoon at a time) until a dough ball forms. If dough becomes too wet, just add a bit more flour.
- Press into pie dish, pushing up the sides -- I like to use the back of a ½ cup measuring cup for this task. Poke dough with a fork, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes until chilled.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Cover chilled pie dough with foil, and fill with pie weights or dry beans to weigh down. Bake for about 25 minutes.
- Remove foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until crust begins to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes.
Make Filling
- In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, heavy cream, eggs, amaretto, nutmeg, vanilla extract and sea salt until smooth and combined.
- Pour filling into pie crust and bake for about an hour or until the pie is mostly set. (It will still be slightly jiggly in the middle.) Cool completely.
Make Praline
- Prepare a baking pan by lining with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. You will need to move quickly once you are ready to pour the hot sugar onto the mat, so have everything ready.
- In a heavy bottomed pot, cook sugar and 1 tablespoon water over medium high heat until it comes to a boil, swirling the pan every so often instead of stirring. (Stirring can cause the mixture to crystallize.)
- When sugar turns honey brown, remove from heat and stir in sliced almonds and salt.
- Pour onto prepared non-stick surface and spread with a spatula in as thin of a layer as possible.
- Cool completely. Once cool, break into small pieces.
- Sprinkle praline over pie before serving.
Notes
Variations:
- Try using a different type of cookie in the crust, such as gingersnaps or biscotti!
- Swap at the amaretto for another liqueur or liquor, like citrusy Grand Marnier or hazelnutty Frangelico.
- Save time and effort by skipping the praline topping and buying store-bought candied nuts to sprinkle on top.
- We've already made a pumpkin pie without evaporated milk, but why not try using coconut cream in its place for a tropical twist?
- Gluten-Free: Use your favorite one-to-one gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour in the crust. Amaretti cookies tend to be gluten-free (just be sure to check the label).
- Nut-Free: Omit the praline topping and swap the amaretti cookies for another type of cookie or use a traditional graham cracker crust.
- Alcohol-free: Substitute the liqueur for 3/4 teaspoon almond extract.
- Vegan: Use plant-based butter, "heavy cream" and vegan egg substitute in place of regular. (Note: I have not actually tried this myself, so it could affect the texture, but I imagine it would still work. Alternatively, this vegan pumpkin pie uses cornstarch to help the filling set.)