7 Unusual Pumpkin Pie Recipes to Make Your Mouth Water

Pumpkin pie image, 1921 Tue, Nov 22, 1921 – 11 · Courier-Post (Camden, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

November is here, which means it’s time to start thinking about that classic holiday dessert—pumpkin pie!

Pumpkin pie has been an American tradition for at least two centuries—which means a lot of people have a favorite tried-and-true recipe. But sometimes we’re in the mood for something a little different! So we took a look to see what non-traditional pumpkin pie recipes we could find in the historical papers on Newspapers.com.

Here are our top picks from across the decades. Beneath the original recipes, we’ve written them out in a way that’s a bit easier to follow. Click on any of the recipe images to see the original clipping on our site. And for even more pumpkin pie recipes, visit our Topic Page!

[Note: In old recipes, a “slow oven” typically means 300-325 degrees Fahrenheit; a “moderate oven” means 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit; and a “hot oven” means 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit.]

Pumpkin-Date Pie – From 1916

1916: Pumpkin-date pie Thu, Oct 19, 1916 – 13 · The Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer (Bridgeport, Connecticut) · Newspapers.com

Ingredients (for filling)

• 1 pint pumpkin pulp
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup chopped dates
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp allspice
• 1 cup cream or rich milk
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp ginger
• ¼ tsp nutmeg

Directions

1. Blend all the ingredients to a cream. Beat up the yolks and whites of eggs separately and fold in the whites the last thing.
2. Pour into crusts and bake.
3. Serve cold with a layer of whipped cream on top flavored with a little vanilla and dotted, if liked, with a few crystallized cherries.

Note: These pies can be made in the form of patties.

Pineapple Pumpkin Pie – From 1930

1930: Pineapple pumpkin pie Fri, Nov 21, 1930 – Page 40 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com

Ingredients (for filling)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup drained crushed pineapple
• 1 cup cooked and strained pumpkin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. Make a flaky crust and line the pie plate.
2. Mix sugar, pineapple, and pumpkin with spices and salt. Add slightly beaten eggs and milk; mix well.
3. Turn into well-lined pie plate and bake in moderate oven 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Honey Pumpkin Pie – From 1932

1932: Honey pumpkin pie Fri, Nov 11, 1932 – 9 · The Miami News (Miami, Florida) · Newspapers.com

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups canned or cooked pumpkin
• ¾ cup honey
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ginger
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 ¼ cups evaporated milk
• Pastry

Directions

1. Mix ingredients thoroughly. Pour into a pie can lined with pastry.
2. Bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes, reduce heat, and continue baking in a slow oven until set. Time for baking—40 minutes.

Raisin Pumpkin Pie – From 1940

1940: Raisin Pumpkin Pie Wed, Jul 31, 1940 – Page 23 · The Daily Tribune (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.com

Ingredients (for filling)

• 2 cups stewed strained pumpkin
• 2 cups rich milk or cream
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ginger
• ½ tsp allspice
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup seedless raisins

Directions

1. Mix pumpkin with milk or cream. Add brown sugar, eggs, salt, ginger, allspice, walnuts, and raisins. Beat 2 minutes.
2. Pour into unbaked shell. Bake in hot oven 15 minutes, reduce heat, and bake 45 minutes in a moderate oven.

Apple-Pumpkin Pie – From 1941

1941: Apple-pumpkin pie Thu, Nov 13, 1941 – 33 · Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) · Newspapers.com

Ingredients (for filling)

• 2 cups peeled, thinly sliced apples
• 2 cups peeled, thinly sliced pumpkin
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ginger
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp orange flavoring, or 2 tsp grated orange rind

Directions

1. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry and fill with apple and pumpkin slices.
2. Sprinkle with sugar, spices, and salt. Add flavoring or grated orange rind.
3. Moisten edge of crust, cover with top crust, and press edges together. Brush crust with milk or cream.
4. Bake 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, then 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes.

Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Pie – From 1944

1944: Caramel pecan pumpkin pie Thu, Oct 5, 1944 – Page 18 · The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups pumpkin
• ¼ cup cream
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp allspice
• ½ tsp lemon extract
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ Tbsp melted butter
• 1 unbaked pastry shell
• 1 cup pecans
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Mix pumpkin, cream, and eggs. Blend the sugar, flour, salt, and spices, and add to the pumpkin mixture, stirring well.
2. Add extracts and melted butter, and pour into an unbaked pastry shell.
3. Bake in hot oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to moderate (350 degrees Fahrenheit) until filling is firm, or about 40 minutes.
4. Cover filling with pecans which have been mixed with the ¼ cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar. Place under broiler until slightly caramelized. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Pumpkin Parfait Pie – From 1952

1952: Pumpkin parfait pie Wed, Nov 19, 1952 – 9 · The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) · Newspapers.com

Ingredients

• 1 package lemon-flavored gelatin
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 pint butter pecan or maple walnut ice cream
• 1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin
• ¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1 baked 9-inch pie shell

Directions

1. Dissolve gelatin in hot water in 2-quart saucepan. Add ice cream by spoonfuls, stirring until melted. Then chill until thickened but not set (15 to 25 minutes).
2. Combine pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, and spices. Fold into thickened gelatin mixture. Turn into the cooled baked pie shell.
3. Chill until firm (15 to 25 minutes). Garnish with whipped cream and sliced dates.

Note: Mashed cooked sweet potatoes, yams, or squash may be used in the place of pumpkin in this recipe.

Want more vintage pumpkin pie recipes from newspapers? Visit our Pumpkin Pie Recipes Topic Page. We’ve got some already clipped for you!

Or find even more pumpkin pie recipes by searching the papers on Newspapers.com. And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more historical content like this!

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