Recipe: The Pie Hole’s Moe’s Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie recipe hails 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

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 nutmeg, 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.

Roll out the crust and transfer it to a 9-inch pie pan. Trim and flute the edge. Spread the pumpkin filling in the pie shell and sprinkle the top with cinnamon.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted halfway between the center of the pie and the edge comes out clean. Cool on the counter until room temperature, at least 2 hours, before serving — or refrigerate until you’re ready to eat. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

— Rebecca Grasley with Willy Blackmore, “Pie is Messy” (Ten Speed Press, $28).