Pumpkin Pie Bars Recipe - Crunchy Creamy Sweet (2024)

FAQs

What makes pumpkin pie gritty? ›

As the egg proteins are heated, they begin to contract. Cook them hot enough, and they'll contract so much that they separate from each other into curds, giving your pie filling that grainy, wet texture. This recipe contains cream cheese in order to help the pie stay nice and smooth even if it's slightly overcooked.

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY PUMPKIN PIE BARS ARE DONE BAKING? This can be a little tricky, but I'm here to help! Start checking around 65 minutes of baking time, and using an oven mitt, gently give the pan a little wiggle. The bars should jiggle a little in the center, but not be wet and super jiggly all over.

Why this happens: The pie was underbaked, or the oven temperature wasn't high enough. This is another problem that can occur when you haven't baked a pumpkin pie long enough, or if the oven temperature wasn't high enough.

Often, blind-baking solves this problem. If you're making a single crust custard-filled pie, like a pumpkin pie, bake the pie dough first before adding filling to allow some of the moisture in the crust to evaporate. You can also totally blind-bake fruit pies.

If you do have the baking chops to make your own pumpkin pie, or at least apply your own glaze to a store-bought one, you, too, can adopt Costco's apricot jelly trick if you like a nice, shiny pie.

Let the pie cool on a rack (leave it on the baking sheet) to room temperature, a few hours. Slice or refrigerate until ready to serve. Make Ahead: Pumpkin pie can be made one day ahead of time and refrigerated.

The outer edges of the pie should be firm while the center will be a little jiggly, but not sloshy or unsteady. As the old adage goes, "It needs to jiggle like Jell-O but not wiggle like a wave." If the entire pie is wobbly, continue baking.

Blind Bake the Crust

One of the fool-proof ways to ensure a crisp bottom pie crust is to do what is called blind baking. This simply means that you bake the crust—either fully if you are adding a custard or cream that won't be cooked, or partially if the whole pie needs to bake—before adding the filling.

For better pumpkin pie, refrigerate the filling overnight

To that end, we've found that refrigerating pumpkin pie filling overnight before using it not only enhances the spices' flavors, but also mellows them. Any “sharp edges” disappear, and you're left with a smooth meld of complementary flavors.

Does overcooked pumpkin pie taste bad? ›

If you overcook a pumpkin pie in an oven, the crust can become too hard and the filling can become burnt or dry. The crust can become almost like a hard cookie, with a strong flavor and possibly a charred color. The filling can become dry and crumbly, with a burnt taste and a dark color.

Note that if your test determines an undercooked pumpkin pie, return it to the oven and bake a few minutes longer before testing it again.

The more diluted the egg mixture, the higher the doneness temperature will be. The perfect pull temperature for pumpkin pie is 175°F (79°C).

While a wobbly, runny pie is a telltale sign that a pumpkin pie is undercooked, an overcooked pumpkin pie is a bit harder to spot. When you've overcooked a pumpkin pie, you may see: The filling separating from the crust. The filling has visible cracks.

Try to use a good quality brand that is fairly smooth and thick. Also we would mention that you should not use pumpkin puree that has been previously frozen as foods should not be thawed and re-frozen without cooking and also defrosted pumpkin puree can sometimes turn a bit grainy.

Yeah, it's definately sand and not seeds/sugar/egg shells etc. It is not confined to just Libby brand, I got some house brand and it has grit. Its not crunchy, it is hard gritty feel that feels like it is hard enough to crack your teeth, but the grit is too small to do that kind of damage.

The outer edges of the pie should be firm while the center will be a little jiggly, but not sloshy or unsteady. As the old adage goes, "It needs to jiggle like Jell-O but not wiggle like a wave." If the entire pie is wobbly, continue baking.

According to the Libby's Pumpkin experts, if you see small bubbles in the filling around the edges of the pie, or if the filling separates from the crust, these are signs of overbaking.