Browned Butter Pumpkin Pie with the Ultimate Flaky Crust

Make the Pie Dough: Add ice to the water. Let it sit and re-measure in step 4.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Add the cubed butter, tossing the cubes and flour together to fully coat the butter in flour. ‘Cut’ the butter into the flour by pressing the pieces between your fingers and thumb, flattening each individual cube. As you work, continue to toss the butter through the flour, re-coating the butter.

Continue cutting the butter into the flour until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a nickel - some pieces will be smaller. The mixture is ready when a handful can be squeezed together and it barely holds its shape. There will be some cracks and some small pieces may fall away, but the bulk of it should clump together in your hand. If not, continue to work the mixture a little and check for readiness again.

Push the butter/flour mixture to the sides of the bowl, creating a well in the center. Add the water to the well. Using your hands, start tossing the butter/flour mixture and water together (this should look and feel like mixing a salad). Continue with this motion for 30-60 seconds until very little loose, un-hydrated flour remains in the bottom of the bowl. The mixture should start to clump together, but it will not form a ball yet. It’s ready when you can gather the mixture into a ball and it mostly holds it shape with some small cracks and crumbs present.

Pour the contents of the bowl onto a clean work surface. Gather back into a ball if necessary and using a knife or bench scrapper, cut the dough in half, stack it on itself and flatten to about 1” thick. If there are any loose crumbs, push them into the dough and repeat this process 3 more times. This process results in an extra flaky crust by creating layers in the dough.

Form the dough into a 1” thick round disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Roll and Par-Bake the Dough: Lightly dust a work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough into an 11-12” circle, rotate the dough slightly after each roll to help prevent it from sticking. If the dough starts to stick to the work surface or rolling pin, add a little more flour. Transfer the dough to the pie plate by gently rolling the dough around the pin, then unrolling it into the pie plate.

Gently press the dough into the bottom corner of the pie plate. Leave a ½” overhang of dough around the rim. Use scissors to trim away any additional excess dough. Use scrap dough to patch any areas along the rim that don’t have a ½” overhang

Tuck the overhang under itself and press gently to make it flush with the outer edge of pie plate. Apply any desired crimping or design to the edge of the dough or leave plain. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat to 425F.

Use a fork to pierce the bottom and sides of the dough 30-40 times. Line the dough with a large piece of aluminum foil. All parts of the dough, including the outer crust should be covered. Use two pieces of criss-crossed foil if necessary. Add the dried rice or beans, filling to the top. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. The edges of the crust should just start to look light brown and the foil should lift out easily. If it doesn't, bake for another 5 minutes and check again.

Remove the crust from the oven and gently remove the foil and dried rice/beans. Return the crust to the oven and continue baking for 5-10 minutes or until the bottom crust appears set and dry. Remove from the oven and cool completely, about 1 hour.

Make the Filling: Leaving the rack in the lower third of the oven, preheat to 375F. Place the butter in a medium skillet and heat over medium heat. Once fully melted, stir constantly with a rubber spatula. When the butter solids start browning, remove the skillet from the heat, but continue stirring. The browned butter is ready when the solids are very dark brown like the color of almond skins. Pour browned butter into a large heat proof bowl and let cool before proceeding; it should not feel hot to the touch, but warm is ok.

Add the remaining ingredients to the browned butter and stir to combine. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake for 35-45 minutes. The pie is ready when a paring knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean or the internal temperature reads 165-170F on a probe thermometer. The edges will be set, but the center will jiggle.

Let the pie cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before placing it in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.