Thanksgiving 2020 was quickly approaching, and I found myself facing a potentially lonely and sad holiday season, too socially distanced from family and friends for comfort.

I decided that even though I couldn’t make Thanksgiving perfect this year, I could still make it pretty. You know, make lemonade out of lemons. Or, in this case, make one lonely little pumpkin pie into a pretty, autumnal work of art. So I turned up Kacey Musgraves’s Christmas album, A Very Kacey Christmas, and sang Present Without a Bow over and over again as I shaped my simple pie dough into delicate little leaves. When I pulled my masterpiece out of the oven, I couldn’t help but smile.

Turns out, digging into a perfectly baked pumpkin pie, decorated with festive, hand-crafted pie-crust leaves, sparks joy. During a holiday season where gatherings may not be as large as we had hoped, the little details can still add up to make our time meaningful and memorable.

(NOTE: I’ve included affiliate links to some of the supplies listed below, and I do receive a small commission from each sale.)

What You’ll Need

• A 9-inch standard (not deep-dish) pie plate

• Small cookie cutters in your desired motif (optional, if you’re decorating your pie crust). I used these.

Ingredients

Crust

(Makes enough dough for a single pie crust + decorative cutouts. If you want to skip decorating, halve this crust recipe for crust only.)

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold

1/2 cup very cold water, plus 2 additional tablespoons if needed

1 egg (egg wash for decorative leaves)

Filling

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

a pinch of ground nutmeg)

1 1/3 cups cold heavy cream

3 large eggs

Make

1. Make the pie dough:

   In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal and the largest bits of butter are the size of peas. Add 1/2 cup cold water and stir until large clumps form. Use your hands to knead the dough together, right in the bottom of the bowl. If necessary to bring the dough together, you can add the last 1-2 tablespoons of water.

   Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in a sheet of plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 2 days.

2. Form the crust: 

   On a floured counter, roll one of your dough halves out into a 12 to 13-inch round shape. Fold dough gently in quarters without creasing and transfer to pie plate. Unfold dough and trim overhang to about 1/2-inch. Fold overhang under edge of pie crust and either leave smooth for placing decorative leaves on top, or crimp edges if you are foregoing decorations. Return to fridge until ready to decorate and fill.

3. Shape decorative cutouts:

   In the same way you did with the first, roll your second dough half out into a 12 to 13-inch circle, and cut into decorative shapes of your choice, either using cookie cutters, or, if you’re feeling brave, freehand.

   In a small bowl, beat 1 egg. Remove pie shell from refrigerator and brush the edges of the crust with the egg wash, then arrange your cutouts on the edges, pressing them gently so they stay put.

   When you’re happy with your design, place the pie crust and remaining egg wash in the fridge while you make the pie filling.

   Heat oven: To 400°F.

4. Make the filling: 

   Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a sputtering simmer and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Scoop cooked pumpkin filling into bowl, and whisk in cold cream until smooth. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Pour filling into prepared pie crust.

   Using remaining egg wash, brush over the tops of your decorative cutouts.

5. Bake pie: 

   Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, until only the center barely jiggles and a toothpick inserted into it comes out pumpkin-free.

Let pie cool on a rack before refrigerating…or you may just end up digging in right away, and that’s perfectly acceptable.

Extra pie (as if) keeps in the fridge for up to a week.