Gingersnap Meringue Pumpkin Pie

Gingersnap Meringue Pumpkin Pie

By Ellery Adams

The name is a mouthful, but the layers of taste in this pie are just as complex. Because it’s November, the month for baking pumpkin pies, I wanted to try something new—something that Olivia Limoges, the heroine of my Books By the Bay mysteries, might serve in her restaurant, The Boot Top Bistro.

The fourth book in this series, Written in Stone, comes out Tuesday, so if you have some time to hit the bookstores after you vote, it should be on the shelf waiting for you.

 

Ingredients:

1 gingersnap crust:

1 2/3 cup crushed gingersnap cookies

¼ cup melted butter

2 tablespoons sugar

Pie Filling:

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup whole milk

½ cup pure maple syrup

 

Brown Sugar Meringue Topping:

3 egg whites (at room temperature)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

pinch of salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare gingersnap crust in food processor on pulse mode or by crushing cookies into crumbs in large bowl. Add sugar and melted butter and press into 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, and spices. Add eggs. Slowly add milk and then the maple syrup. Stir gently. Pour filling into gingersnap crust. Add pie shield or aluminum foil to edges to keep from blackening. Bake for approximately 55 minutes or until knife inserted into center of pie comes out clean. Remove pie shield or foil. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.

For the last ten minutes the pie is baking, put a large metal bowl and electric mixer beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from freezer and beat egg whites, vanilla, cream of tartar, and pinch of salt on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add brown sugar slowly while beating on high. Keep beating until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Bake for about 15 minutes until golden, cool, and then refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg.

ISBN - 042525173X
Price - $7.99
Available at your local bookstore or Amazon.com,Indiebound.com, Barnes & Noble

When Munin Cooper, known as the Witch of Oyster Bay, warns Olivia Limoges that death is coming, neither of them realize that it is the older woman herself who will soon be found dead. And Olivia’s instincts tell her that something—or someone—more sinister than a mystical force is at play… Olivia has a lot on her plate preparing for the Coastal Carolina Food Festival…