Photos show how common baking mistakes can drastically change your pumpkin pie (2024)

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This was my first time ever making my own pumpkin pie, and I learned just how many things can go wrong.

I have never made — and seldom have I eaten — pumpkin pie. While I consider myself an avid home cook, I'm also an impatient, anxious baker. The measuring, math, and precise nature of the activity just aren't for me.

After messing up banana bread, pancakes, chocolate-chip cookies, and more goodies of the sort, I was curious to see what would happen if I slipped up while making this classic autumn dessert. So, I made eight mistakes with the pie (on purpose!) and kept track of the results.

For consistency, I used the same simple recipe, which I found on the back of a can of Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin (the recipe is also available on the brand's website), to make each batch. I chose to use Keebler's premade pie crusts ensuring the filling was the only part I was messing up.

From adding too much evaporated milk to trying to use pumpkin pie spice instead of the called-for combination of four separate spices, here's what happened to my pies.

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Adding too much sugar sweetens the pie, but not in an overwhelming way.

I used twice the amount of called-for sugar in this batch. When I was mixing the batter, I saw how thin and liquidy it was. This batter filled 12 miniature pie tins.

When I took the pies out of the oven and cut them open, I found that this variety had developed a thin, glossy film on top. It wasn't sticky, but it did look like an orange skin on top of my pie while the middle was lighter in color.

Aside from the filmy layer, I thought this pie tasted great. Though it was noticeably sweet, I expected the sugar to be more overwhelming than it was.

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On the flip side, leaving out most of the sugar creates a beautiful flavor profile.

Using one-third of the amount of called-for sugar resulted in a more pumpkin-forward flavor. Though it didn't have much sugar in the batter, the pie still tasted somewhat sweet.

This batter was also much more viscous than the batch with too much sugar and I only got eight pie tins filled from it.

The thin top layer of this pie wasn't shiny and was more wrinkled than smooth. It was also more toasted in color than the rest of the filling.

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Adding an extra egg gives the pie a cake-like consistency.

After mixing all ingredients together and using two eggs instead of one, my batter was more of a goopy consistency than a thin and drippy one. It filled 11 tins.

Out of all eight batches, this one made for the cleanest cut. There was a very thin shiny top layer, but the rest of the filling was a consistent light-orange color.

I took a bite and thought it had a slightly strange consistency — the middle was cakey but wet at the same time. It was kind of like a poorly-made cheesecake or a store-bought cookie that was left submerged in milk for a little too long.

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Forgetting the eggs altogether left me with a soupy pie.

I found out that the egg is really what binds the filling together and keeps it in place.

This batter held onto the consistency of the canned pumpkin for the most part and filled eight pie tins.

When my oven timer went off, my knife inserted in the center of the pies came out dripping with filling. I took two of the mini pies out and let the rest cook for another five minutes.

The first two were nearly impossible to cut in half and remove from the tins. It was like trying to cut through a bowl of melted ice cream. The pies that had cooked for an additional five minutes were easier to separate but still oozed with filling. Both had a thick layer of bright-orange skin on top.

The absence of egg didn't seem to affect the pie's flavor at all; they were both still delicious and on-point in terms of spices. Instead, it just made for a runny texture that was more like pumpkin pie soup.

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Pies with too much evaporated milk formed blisters on top.

Rather than half, I used the whole can of evaporated milk for this batch. The batter was extremely thin and filled 15 miniature pie tins.

As I let the pies cool, I saw that they all had browned blisters on top of their plastic-looking skin. Though the interior of the filling had a great, creamy texture. The flavor was ever-so-slightly muted and had a hint of milkiness to it.

While the crusts on each of the other batches differed only slightly in color, this crust seemed to absorb some of the extra milk and took on a toffee-like texture.

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The pie I made without any evaporated milk looked clunky but tasted good.

This batter had the consistency of pumpkin purée and only filled five tins.

Cutting the pies in half, I noticed that they felt a lot heavier and denser than the others. The top layer was a little glossy-looking, but it wasn't super thick and was consistent in color with the inside of the filling.

From the moment I took my first bite, I appreciated the smooth, consistent texture of this pie.

In terms of flavor, I thought this batch was slightly more savory than the others. I was able to really taste the clove, ginger, and cinnamon.

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Sweetened condensed milk formed a thick, plastic-like layer on top of the pie.

It's easy to mistake a can of sweetened condensed milk for a can of evaporated milk at the grocery store.Rest assured that although making this mistake will create a thick top layer on your pie, it won't ruin the flavor or interior texture.

Measuring out the thick, sticky condensed milk and mixing it with the pumpkin, sugar, and spices made a goopy pie batter. It filled nine mini tins.

Placing the pies on a cooling rack (also known as my stovetop), I noticed the slightly bubbled, plastic-looking top layer. It was the color of bright-orange leaves and separated slightly from the middle of the filling when I cut into the pie.

Though I couldn't really tell the difference in flavor between condensed and evaporated milk, the textures were definitely not the same.

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Using pumpkin pie spice made almost no difference in flavor.

I wondered whether pumpkin pie spice could be evenly swapped for the combination of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger that Libby's recipe calls for.

The pumpkin pie spice I bought was a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves. I used the same amount of the combination spice as I would have used had I been working with the other three spices in total, so the batter didn't take on a funky texture at all.

Cutting into the pie revealed a beautiful orange color throughout. The texture was mushy, but not too wet, and each slice held together nicely. There was a slightly thick skin that was sticky to the touch, but it looked beautiful overall.

This pie tasted like a normal pumpkin pie, so if you want to grab one container of pumpkin pie spice instead of three separate spices, know that it won't throw off the flavor.

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All of the pies had a great flavor, it was the textures of some that were more of a turnoff.

After making eight batches of pumpkin pie, I found that the changes I made in the recipe mostly led to changes in texture rather than flavor.

While characteristics like sweetness varied the tiniest bit, moisture and the top-layer texture were the two components that changed the most from one pie to the next.

I was surprised that none of these pies actually tasted bad — especially the one without any milk at all. I actually really enjoyed the pie with too little sugar and I've justified eating it for breakfast each of the two mornings that have passed since the day I made it.

Though the physical appearance of each batch was different, I can safely say it's pretty hard to mess up the flavors in a pumpkin pie.