Depths-of-Fall Butternut Squash Pie
My two-pies-in-one-pie-pan experiment helped me to choose my first pie for the pie competition at work. This pie is delicious. I’m thinking the filling would make a great squash salad for Thanksgiving…
Depths-of-Fall Butternut Squash Pie – from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking from My House to Yours”
Double pie crust – I used this recipe
1 1/4 pounds (about 2 cups) cubed (1-inch) peeled, ready-to-cook butternut squash
2 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup moist, plump dried fruit, such as cranberries, raisins, or finely diced apples or pears
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Grated zest of 1/2 orange
2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 Tbsp plain dry bread crumbs
Position rack in the lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
Cook squash in microwave for 6 minutes, or until almost cooked through (or you can steam the squash). Pat the squash dry and toss it into a large bowl.
Add the remaining filling ingredients to the bowl and turn them gently with a large rubber spatula to blend. Let the filling sit for 5 minutes or so, just long enough to give the sugar time to melt, then gently mix again.
Remove the pie plate and top crust from the refrigerator and put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Spoon the filling into the bottom crust and level the top. Brush the rim of the bottom crust with a little water and center the rolled-out top crust over the pie – if the top crust is too cold and not pliable, let it sit for a couple of minutes. Using your fingertips, press the top crust gently against the bottom. Seal crusts together.
Using a small sharp knife, cut 4 slits into the top crust, and cut a circle out of the center of the crust using the wide end of a pastry tip. Refrigerate pie for 30 minutes (if you have time). The pie can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; bake directly from the freezer, adding about 10 minutes to the baking time.
Brush the top of the pie lightly with water and dust with a little sugar. Bake the pie for 55-60 minutes, or until it is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling up through the center hole. Check the pie at 40 minutes – if it is already pretty brown, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the pie to a rack to cool to just warm or room temperature.
Storing: This pie is really best served the day it is made. If you must keep it overnight, store it covered in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature or warm it for a few minutes in a 350 degree oven before serving.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love the idea of perfect party minicakes!! They look delish! Great job! That flour picture is so funny. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that – flour on the counter, on my KA, in my hair, on my face!
Clara @ I♥food4thought
Yum! Love the raspberry/lemon combo, and the mini cakes are adorable 🙂
Well done – what an innovative variation. They look so cute!
I can totally relate to the slippery effect.
Your cake looks beautiful!
You did a lovely job on all your mini cakes.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
Adorable! Your KA and mine would be best friends. ‘Chuck’ is always filthy. Poor guy. He gets cleaned up, just to be coated again. 😉
How cute! Making mini-cakes is a great idea. Next time I make this cake I will try that, I still have a HUGE cake in the fridge I need to eat :-/
Cheers!
Great idea on the mini cakes. They are really cute. Great job. To the next challenge we go.
beautifully done!!! love it!!!
I love the little cakes! Plus the raspberries! Yummy!
The mini cakes look really amazing!
The minicakes are wonderful! Now, you’ll need my address to send one…Libby 😉
Love the idea of the mini cakes, that’s so adorable!
Mini-cakes are definitely more work than one large cake! They’re so cute though.
What a cute idea! They look adorable!
I love desserts in miniature and your mini cakes look beautiful. I think I will most definitely be making mini cakes sometime in the near future – thank you for the wonderful idea!
~gail
I’m loving the mini versions! The cake looks fantastic. Mmmmm!
I made mini ones too. I hate to tell you but it is way easier to frost a whole cake than mini ones. 🙂
Looks great.
Beautiful!! You did a gorgeous job :O)
These individual cakes look pretty…well done!
Really cute idea to make individual cakes, I love that. Great job!
I adore your minicakes. V lovely.
j
Oh! the minicakes are just the best idea ever. I probably should have done that with my oh-so flat cakes. How great.
Mini cakes -what a great idea! I think I’m going to have to try that here pretty soon. Looks like a delicious lot of fun. Especially the part where you get to eat the scraps. I think this cake was some of the best I’ve had.
What cute little mini cakes! Aren’t things just better when they’re mini?
Great work!
I love the little cakes and the picture with the raspberry and lemon zest is so enticing!
Perfect!
xoxo
Gabi
Another messy baker here! And I love the mini cakes – I’m nice to see its as low-tech as cutting circles out of larger pieces rather than trying to bake a bunch of cakes in miniature pans.
Jen,
Your little cakes are gorgeous! I too love swiss buttercream … congratulations on a job well done!
wow, that takes some patience, putting all those cakes together! They are just the cutest though. ~ JMom
so petite and cute!