OK friends, it’s officially pie season and I’m ready with a tasty new recipe that you’re going to want to bring to every holiday party this season! My friends at Martha Stewart Living and California Walnuts partnered up and challenged me to make a beautiful recipe that would “wow” holiday guests using the nutritious goodness of California walnuts. I love texture and flavor of walnuts (especially in holiday recipes!) and decided to incorporate them into a fresh twist on the classic pumpkin pie.
I love pumpkin pie because the filling has such a seasonal taste and just a touch of sweetness. This version that I made has the same timeless filling flavors, but I updated the crust with much more interesting flavors: walnuts and pretzels. I got out my handy food processor and broke down the California Walnuts and pretzels into tiny pieces – not to the point of a flour-like consistency though, you want to retain some of that great texture from the nuts.
Then I mixed the walnuts and pretzels together with butter and just a bit of brown sugar, and pressed it into a pie dish to form the crust. After baking for just a few minutes in the oven, the crust starts to hold together and is ready for that pumpkin pie filling you know and love.
The result is a sweet and salty and nutty combination that is perfect for holiday entertaining. (PS: I love the idea of using gluten-free pretzels to make this a GF friendly dessert too!). Get the full recipe below:
- 1.5 Cups of Pretzels
- 1.5 Cups of California walnuts
- 10 Tbsp. of Butter
- 3 Tbsp. of Brown Sugar
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1.5 tsp. cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp. Nutmeg
- 2 large eggs
- 15 oz. can of Pumpkin Puree
- 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add pretzels to food processor cup and pulse to break down into small pieces; remove and transfer to a bowl. Repeat the process with the walnuts, pulsing until the nuts are broken down into tiny pea-sized pieces and then transfer to the pretzel bowl.
- Pour melted butter and brown sugar over the pretzels and California walnuts, use a spoon to combine all of the ingredients and then transfer to a 9” glass pie dish.
- Use the back of a measuring cup of glass and press the pretzel-walnut mixtures into the pie dish until it’s evenly distributed across the bottom and around the edges of the pan.
- Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 10 minutes; remove from oven and set aside while you prepare the filling.
- Add white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, 2 eggs, pumpkin puree, and evaporated milk in a large bowl and whisk together until fully combined.
- Pour filling into the pre-baked piecrust and return the pie to the oven to cook at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. (Watch the pie crust for burning; if the edges look like they’re starting to darken add a piece of foil around the edge of the pie crust to prevent burning.)
- Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
As you’re planning your holiday entertaining menus, visit walnuts.org for other simply delicious recipes from California Walnuts.
Please note: This post was created in partnership with Martha Stewart Living and California Walnuts. All opinions, images and content are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support this site.
