The best pie I ever tasted in my life was at Eastern Market in Detroit. The stall was called Love’s Custard Pie, and the family members who staffed the counter sold their mom’s chess pie, blueberry pie, pumpkin pie, custard pie, sweet potato pie and bean pie. I humbly offer my best pie for your consideration. It’s nowhere near as good as Momma Love’s, but then again, what is?

Makes 8 servings. See recipe for pate brisée below pie recipe.

Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbs. bourbon
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tbs. molasses
15 ounces cooked, cooled and riced fresh pumpkin or 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough to 12-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie pan with dough. Crimp the edges in a decorative pattern. Line the dough with parchment. Weight with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until crust is set. Remove weights and bake an additional 4 to 6 minutes or until crust is dry. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Meanwhile, combine sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, egg yolks and molasses. Stir to mix well. Then stir in pumpkin, and then half-and-half. As soon as the partially baked pie shell is removed from the oven, pour filling into hot crust. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until edges are slightly puffed and the center is set. Let it cool on a wire rack. Serve with whipped cream.

PATE BRISÉE

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
7 tbs. chilled unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
3 to 4 tbs. ice water

Instructions
Mix flour and salt together in mixing bowl. Cut butter into half-inch cubes. Press butter chunks between fingertips and drop into the center of the bowl. Toss to coat. With your fingertips, gradually work flour and butter together until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk egg yolk and 3 tablespoons of water together in small bowl to blend. Drizzle egg yolk mixture over flour mixture, tossing it with fork. Stir dough until mixture begins to come together. Press together with hands to form a rough dough. Turn out onto cool counter and press together into mound. Dough will not come together completely. Sprinkle with enough remaining water to reach the right consistency if dough is very crumbly at this point.

With the heel of your hand, smear a small amount of dough away from you on the counter. Scrape up and continue with remaining dough, mounding smeared dough together on the counter. Press mound into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

This should be enough for a 10-inch tart or half a dozen 4 1/2-inch tarts.