The Pie Hole’s Moe’s Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie recipe comes from cookbook author Rebecca Grasley’s grandmother, Moe, who was famous for her pies. The Thanksgiving specialty has been served at The Pie Hole, Grasley’s Los Angeles-based pie shop enterprise, since the shop’s very beginning, she says.

A customer once insisted that Grasley give him the recipe, claiming that it was the best pumpkin pie he’d ever eaten — he was the first of many guests to say that, Grasley recounts in her new cookbook, “Pie is Messy” (Ten Speed ​​Press, $28) — and offered to pay $100,000. She refused, of course. But today, you can have it for the price of her new book — or a newspaper subscription.

Moe’s Pumpkin Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups pumpkin puree, homemade or canned

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1½ teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

"Pie is Messy" (Ten Speed ​​Press, 2023)
“Pie is Messy” (Ten Speed ​​Press, 2023)

1½ cups whole milk

4 eggs

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 recipe Moe’s pie crust

Ground cinnamon

Whipped cream (optional) for serving

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugar, salt and nuts, mixing with a wooden spoon until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the pumpkin and stir to blend well.