Food Challenge: Butternut Squash Pie

It is that time of year again; the time of year when everyone [on the planet] becomes obsessed with pumpkin. I like pumpkin just fine, but my obsession lies with a different squash, the butternut. In fact, I love butternut squash so much, that my obsession rubs off on those around me. Daniel is starting to like butternut squash so much, that he asked me to make a pie out of it.

This pie is very similar to pumpkin pie. It has a slight different flavor, but if you don't tell anyone, they probably won't know the difference. So, if there isn't much difference, why should you make butternut squash pie? Well, butternut squash is naturally sweeter than pumpkin, therefore, you don't need to add as much sugar. That seems like a pretty good reason to me.

Ingredients:
2 cups pureed butternut squash
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
Prepared (but not baked) pie crust

This recipe calls for pureed butternut squash. Since this is going to be a pie akin to pumpkin pie, you are going to want the consistency to be about that of canned pumpkin. I had to add a little water when I blended my squash, but it turned out looking like this:

Squash Puree

The prep work(making crust, pureeing squash) before making this pie can be a pain, but actually making the pie is a cinch.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients (other than the pie crust) together until the mixture is nice and smooth.

Pie Filling.

Pour the mixture into your prepared pie crust (store bought is fine, I used a modified version of a Betty Crocker recipe. I added whole wheat, because I can't help myself.)

Prepared Crust.

Ready to Bake.

Carefully place your pie in your pre-heated oven. The middle rack is probably the most appropriate. Bake the pie for 15 minutes. At this point, lower the temperture of the oven to 350 degrees and bake an additional 35-45 minutes. When it is ready, a toothpick will come out mostly clean, and the pie will no longer jiggle.

Baked Pie.

Let the pie cool for at least an hour, more if you are able, and serve the same way you would serve pumpkin pie.

Ready to Eat.

Frankly, I love this pie. Butternut squash in a dessert, heck to the yes. It's a goo pie to give a try this Thanksgiving. If you have picky eaters, just don't let them know it is butternut squash, and they will be none the wiser.

I labeled this one as an easy recipe, because the recipe itself is easy as pie (pun definitely intended), but if you count cooking and pureeing the squash, and making the crust, this is probably an intermediate recipe.