Chaos Kitchen Creations: Pumpkin Pie

Dante and Crokell want you to know, they'd do anything for pumpkin pie. But they won't do that. And we have Thanksgiving Recipes, Writing Updates, and Plans for the end of the year.

I would do anything for pie!

Happy Sunday everyone. I hope your weekend was wonderful, and you are about ready for Thanksgiving! I love Autumn flavors, almost as much as I love Autumn weather. Both Tod and I love pumpkin season, which for some reason ended early this year, but we still have THANKSGIVING. I am very thankful this year. It has been a very odd year, with lots of ups and downs. We have seen loss, we have managed to cling to hope, and see it fulfilled with some of the medical issues of family member resulting in healing. And this year, we might have finally found what my chronic health issue cause, with a hopeful fix. Fingers crossed. So, I am triply thankfully.

So, today I am stopping to be thankful and then baking one of my favorite treats ever, pumpkin pie. It is always wonderful to smell those spices and sweetness and make moments with those you love. And because it is holiday we went crazy and used milk AND eggs in this recipe.

Let me know what recipes you would love to see in the comments. I am considering trying to do one recipe a month but I am not sure. Mostly because we have so much fun in our Chef’s World novel which hopefully will find a home in 2026.

I would meditate for pie!

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Gluten-Free Crust

• 2 cups almond flour

• 1/3 cup tapioca flour

• 1/4 cup pumpkin flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest

• 1 tablespoon maple sugar

• 3 tablespoons cold butter

• 3 tablespoons shortening oil palm

• 2 large egg

Instructions:

The baking of pies is a serious matter!

1. Make dough: In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, chickpea flour, tapioca flour, and salt until combined. Add cold butter and shortening into small pieces into flour mix. Add eggs with zest and sugar. Stir until it more solid then knead gently until you have it a shape of a ball or similar shape easy to roll out.

2. Chill dough: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

3. Roll out dough: roll out into into a thin round sheet.

4. Press into pie dish: Place the thin sheet into a 9-inch pie dish and crimp the edges with your fingers.

5. Blind Bake: Use parchment then add dried beans to hold it down. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for about 15 minutes. Remove beans and parchment. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Filling

• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

• 2 cans of pumpkin puree (unsweetened) 30 oz

• 3 large eggs

• 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)

• 2 tablespoons molasses

• Pumpkin Pie Spice blend:

  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon allspice

  • 1 teaspoon ground vanilla

  • 1/2 ground cardamom

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions:

Pie filling is important. And filling.

1. Mix filling: In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, brown sugar, molasses, and all the spices until well combined.

2. Pour into crust until almost to the top edge of the pie.

3. Bake: Bake for around 45 to 55 minutes. Check that it it is set by jiggling it.

4. Chill: Once set cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Then refrigerate for at least 2 hour. (We are chilling overnight and freezing it until Thanksgiving.)

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Writing Update

We have been writing a little here, a little there, a little everywhere this year. We have four short stories published in 2025.

Black Cat Tales: An Anthology of Black Cats (from Black Cat Press - where else?)

Convoy of Chaos (Three Ravens Publishing, Car Wars universe)

Giant Squeeing Robots (Raconteur Press Anthologies)

Five Seconds of Power (Live Real Press)

And we just had another one accepted last week and are working on a story for another IP call. This year has been the year of IP and free fiction (Chaos Tales and Chaos Critter Tails).

In other news our finished novel is currently in search for a home. We will be pitching it next year in a number of places. Specifically, Tod and I want to finish draft of our novel projects by February. I am the lead on a young adult novel draft and Tod is the lead on the middle grade novel… (If you know us, that makes perfect sense. -Tod)

We will see what happens as we are always at the whims of chaos and our critters.

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Chaos Tip of the Week

Remember the good, forgive the bad, and move though the pumpkin patch with an eye to hidden treasures on the vine.

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Critter’s Weekly Question

What is the one food that make you feel content just to smell? (Mine is pumpkin pie.)

~Anna and Tod