Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Purists use double cream (whole milk reduced by half), but evaporated milk is a good choice too. Plain pumpkin pie is very boring. Experiment with some different crusts and amendments. I like a layered apple-pumpkin pie with fresh whipped vanilla cream and a nutty crust.

My husband's great-grandmother's recipe (definitely now my go-to recipe) uses both evaporated milk and whole milk and way more spices than I've ever used in any other recipe. The result is rich and spicy--everyone who's tried it loves it.

Heavy cream, and if I can't find it in the store, half and half is the second choice. The taste and mouthfeel can't be beat. Evaporated milk, IMHO, has a chemical/tinny taste that even the spices in pumpkin pie can't hide.

I've been using this riff on the recipe on the back of the Libby's can for years, and I've gotten nothing but raves:

Use 1/3 cup dark brown sugar & 2/3 cup white sugar instead of all white

Use 1-1/2 cups heavy cream instead of evaporated milk (half & half is OK)

Double the spices, and heap the spoons a bit & add a teaspoon of nutmeg

Use 3 eggs instead of two

Add a teaspoon of vanilla

Evaporated milk. Crosby's molasses. And One-Pie brand pumpkin from Maine. (There was a massive crop failure with the one-pie growers, so I grabbed last year's cans as soon as I heard--it is impossible to find now.)

Cream. Evaporated milk sounds like an intriguing alternative...

Looking at the picture, I'm wondering if we need a crust discussion too. That's an awful lot of crust for the amount of filling.

I make a thin pastry crust for guests or for taking places. For myself I just put a layer of crushed graham crackers on the bottom (no added butter or sugar) and pour the custard on to the crackers very carefully. The graham crackers meld with the custard and help the pieces come out cleanly, while making the "pie" more of an everyday pudding.

Used milk only once - it was a mistake. Use evaporated whole milk. Wouldn't use condensed milk because I use honey to sweeten the pie.

I'm intrigued by the idea of soy milk, because I think chocolate silk makes absolutely the best chocolate pudding.

hello!
http://www.usa-jordan.com

Before the Internet and the Food Network came along, I had never heard of using anything except evaporated milk for pumpkin pies. Since then, I've tried whole milk, cream and half-and-half and always come back to evaporated milk. I like the subtle creamy flavor it imparts and I love the body it gives to the pumpkin custard--dense without being heavy. Plus it's cheap.

But now I'll have to try it with egg nog. It sounds too good to pass up. Thanks, Patrick_777.

I quit adding any spices except cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg because I like my pies to taste like pumpkin. I save the ginger and cloves, etc. for gingerbread and gingersnaps.

i use cream ... but coconut milk sounds good..... i love pumpkin pie!!! with a touch of orange rind .....

I use Egg Nog. It's awesome.

Soymilk. It's good and great if you're like me and can't "do" milk.