Easy Blender Maple Pumpkin Pie

Maple pumpkin pie made in a blender! What could be easier?

Pumpkin pie filling in a blender? Oh yes I did.

Alright you guys, this post is not only about a delicious maple pumpkin pie, but also about one of my favorite pumpkin pie tips (street cred goes to my mom on this one): make your pumpkin pie filling in a blender! Yup. Maybe a lot of you already do this, but it was mind-blowing news for me when I found out. Though obvious in hindsight, I'm still excited about it (if you can't tell). And just in case you still haven't tried it yet, I wanted to make sure you knew for all your future pumpkin pies.

And you guys. I'm all excited about a blender for the pumpkin pie filling, BUT. This blender maple pumpkin pie also has some serious potential for only dirtying up one and only one dish: a food processor. If you're one of those people that makes your pie crust in a food processor (I sometimes am!), you could whip up the crust in that, and then get right to your pie filling in the food processor once the crust has had some time to chill in the fridge for a bit. Oh, and laziness is totally encouraged here -- don't feel like rinsing pie crust ingredients out of your food processor? Just straight up don't. Because a little flour and butter residue in the pie filling probably wouldn't be sad.

With that, let's cut to the maple pumpkin pie chase. This pie is:

• Naturally sweetened (maple syrup!)
• Made with an all-butter, flaky whole wheat pie crust (or your fave crust :))
• Blended (just filling, unless you food process the filling and the pie crust like a boss)
• Made with clean ingredients
• Delicious with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (I dust a lil cinnamon on it ;))
• SO EASY (which is a godsend if you're hosting Thanksgiving)
• Healthy while still indulgent (it's a fine line, this one)

Before we go any further, I have to know your Thanksgiving pie preference: apple or pumpkin??

I honestly dislike this question almost as much as I dislike being asked my favorite Beatles song. Apple pie is possibly my favorite dessert of all time (in heavy competition with cherry pie), but I can't decide between apple or pumpkin pie until the very moment I'm about to eat it. So for me, the answer to "apple or pumpkin?" is "yes". And if there's apple crisp in the mix? Lord help me.

But getting back to maple pumpkin pie, let's talk ingredients.

Blender Maple Pumpkin Pie Ingredients:

• Whole wheat pastry flour: This is my favorite flour to use for a whole wheat pie crust, but you can absolutely use white whole wheat, regular whole wheat, or all-purpose.
• Maple syrup: Except for a bit of natural cane sugar in the crust (for which you can sub any sugar), this pumpkin pie is entirely sweetened with maple syrup.
• Whole milk: Almond milk or other non-dairy milks will work as well! I really loved the texture, creaminess, and richness that whole milk had to offer (I've been super into the Fair Life brand lately).
• Pumpkin pie spice: I love having this stuff on hand, but in a pinch you can definitely use 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon + ½ teaspoon ground ginger + ¼ teaspoon nutmeg +⅛ teaspoon ground cloves for a delicious result!
• Black pepper: YES. I'm all kinds of serious about this. I was skeptical at first, too, but something about adding black pepper to your pumpkin pie gives it the most amazing flavor in the world. I will never go back to a pumpkin pie sans black pepper!

Okay, now for making the pie. It's SO easy you guys! Get out your blenders and/or food processors.

First things first: pie crust. If you're planning to make your own crust, you'll need to plan ahead to give your crust time to chill. Otherwise, if you have a ready-made pie crust that you like to use as a shortcut, go for it. We're going to talk homemade pie crust done two ways: 1) with a pastry cutter, and 2) in a food processor.

Pie Crust with a Pastry Cutter

If you don't have a food processor or simply don't prefer to use it for pie crust, a pastry cutter (affiliate link) works perfectly. Just combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Then, using a pastry cutter (or a couple of forks), cut the (very cold!) butter cubes into the flour until you have a bunch of pea-sized bits (it's totally okay if these vary in size). Measure out a ½ cup of water and add several ice cubes. Add 1-2 tablespoons of this ice water to your butter-flour mixture and stir, repeating this until the dough just comes together into a ball -- this usually takes me about 6-8 tablespoons or a ½ cup of water. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and mold it into a disk shape, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Pie Crust with a Food Processor

Similarly, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor (affiliate link) and pulse briefly to combine. Then add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the pea-sized bits form. From this point on, repeat the same steps as above (starting with the ice water). Remember: It's very important to use enough water to ensure your dough is easy to roll out and work with. Dry dough sticks to everything and cracks!

Okay, so we have our crust. Once it's had some time to chill, take it out and roll it out on a floured surface using a floured rolling pin, until it's about ⅛-inch thick. Carefully transfer it to a pie dish and trim the extra dough off the edges.

Preheat that oven to 350 degrees, and it's blender (or food processor) time.

Blender Maple Pumpkin Pie Filling

So, using the same food processor as you did for the crust, or using your blender, combine all the pumpkin pie ingredients: pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, milk, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and pepper. Blend that baby up till it's nice and smooth.

*The best part*. Literally pour it into the pie crust. Gah! It's just SO EASY. Then bake it for 45-50 minutes, allow it to cool, and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Maybe with a lil cinnamon dusted on top.

Aaaaand maple pumpkin pie. In a blender. Happy Thanksgiving!

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