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This Libby's Pumpkin Pie Tart takes an All-American, beloved classic and updates it with a fabulous new twist. Dump traditional pie dough for a crisp, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, press-in-the-pan shortbread crust.
If you enjoy traditional pumpkin pie, this is a delicious new variation. With the classic pumpkin filling and a crisp, buttery shortbread crust, this Libby's Pumpkin Pie Tart takes tradition to a whole new level... a fabulously delicious level!
I've always loved a good pumpkin pie with a flaky tender crust. And honestly, you can't go wrong with the traditional Libby pumpkin pie recipe. The pie filling is quick and easy and the flavor profile is spot on. It's making the perfect pie crust that's always been a bit of an issue for me.
Don't let me wrong, making a great pie crust isn't rocket science. Lots of people can whip up a fabulous dough in no time flat but, sadly, not me. Maybe it's because I'm lazy or perhaps because my grandmother Wiskerchen ((my mom's mom) set the gold standard. She made the most amazing, ultra-light, puffy, tender flaky pie crust. I've never been able to achieve that kind of expertise. And as much as I love to cook, making pie crust dough has never been on my favorite list.
Enter the press-in shortbread tart crust!!
Press-in shortbread tart crust
The recipe for our Ridiculously Easy Shortbread Crust (pictured above and below) evolved several years ago when Scott and I were spending a few weeks in France.
I was making a dessert to share with a French woman we had made friends. She came for coffee one morning and I served the French Almond Plum Tart pictured below. This friend had run a cooking school in Paris for many years and had amazing culinary expertise. After a few bites of the tart, she said, "This crust is better than mine!" That's when I knew the recipe was a winner - and I've been running with it ever since in both sweet and savory recipes.
(NOTE: I've tweaked the press-in recipe a bit recently as some readers found the crust to be a little too crisp. It's still nice and crisp but tender, at the same time!)
Libby's pumpkin
If you live outside the U.S. you might not be familiar with Libby's pumpkin puree, aka 100% pure pumpkin. To me, it's the crème de la crème of pumpkin purees and perfect for pumpkin pie. I've tried lots of other brands of canned pumpkin and always go back to Libby. (BTW, this is not a sponsored post, just my honest opinion.)
I recently read an interesting article, published by Bon Appetit discussing the famous Libby's pumpkin pie. The author's, (Priya Krishna) description was similar to mine. She says, "Libby's is the one that many people consider to be the gold standard for how pumpkin pie is supposed to taste, including me."
Libby's 100% pumpkin is available across America in just about every grocery store. If you have another favorite pumpkin puree or live outside of the U.S. and Libby's is not available, feel free to use a different brand!
A fun (optional) garnish
Although this Libby's Pumpkin Pie Tart is delicious on its own or with a dollop of freshly whipped cream, if you have a bit of extra time the shortbread leaves look gorgeous!
They're also crisp, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. It's my classic cut-out shortbread recipe that I made in a zillion different variations from glazed cookies to tiny little tea party size bites to filled tarts and much more!
Magic!
I can't talk about cut out cookies without sharing my magic rolling pin that rescued me from making ugly, uneven rolled cookies. This little kitchen workhorse can be used as a regular rolling pin but it has 4 concentric little discs (ranging from a super thin one sixteenth-inch to three eights inch for thicker cookies) that can be screwed on to roll out perfectly level dough. If you love to bake or know someone who enjoys baking, this is a "must-have".
So, enough talk! It's time to let you go so you can make this Libby's Pumpkin Pie Tart. I promise that even the uncompromising traditional pumpkin pie aficionados in your life will roll their eyes with the first delicious bite!
Cafe Tips for making this Libby's Pumpkin Pie Tart
- The shortbread crust and the shortbread cookie garnish can be made a day or two in advance. Then all that's left to do is to mix up the one bowl filling, pour it into the shell and bake!
- If you have pumpkin pie spice on hand you can sub 1 teaspoon for cinnamon, ginger and cloves called for in this recipe.
- The original Libby's pumpkin pie filling calls for evaporated milk. I like to sub half and half instead but you can go either way.
- For those readers, living outside of the U.S. or Canada, half and half is a convenience product often used in coffee. It's simply a mixture of half milk and half cream.
- In addition, if you live outside the U.S., you might not be familiar with Libby's pumpkin puree. It's just pumpkin that's, as the name implies, that's been pureed, nothing else! Other brands of pumpkin puree or homemade pureed pumpkin can be used in this recipe.
- If you make the shortbread cookies garnish make sure to start with very soft butter. You can quickly soften butter by using the microwave at 10% power for 2-3 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave.
Thought for the day:
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.Â
Isaiah 40:26
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It's so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.
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Libby's Pumpkin Pie Tart (With an Easy Press-In Crust)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- Ridiculously Easy Press-In Shortbread Crust recipe
- For the filling:
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ÂĽ teaspoon kosher salt
- ÂĽ teaspoon ground ginger
- â…› teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, aka 100% pure pumpkin (I love Libby’s)
- Âľ cup half-and-half or evaporated milk
- For the shortbread cookie garnish, optional:
- 4 ounces of very soft butter, 1 stick
- ÂĽ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Âľ cup all-purpose flour
- ÂĽ cup cornstarch
Instructions
For the prep:
- Preheat the oven to 350ËšF (177ËšC). Arrange one shelf in the center of the oven and one at the lowest level.
For the crust:
- Prepare the Press-In Shortbread Crust as directed in the recipe in a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Cool as directed in the recipe for at least 10 minutes (longer is fine) then return the crust to the sheet pan before adding the filling.
For the filling:
- Whisk eggs together in a medium-sized bowl until well combined
- Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until well incorporated.
- Pour the filling into the cooled crust shell.
- Bake at 350ËšF (177ËšC) for 30-35 minutes, until knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a cooling rack. If not serving the same day, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Add the optional shortbread cookie garnish an or two before serving.
For the optional shortbread cookie garnish
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place soft butter in a medium-size mixing bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula until nice and smooth.
- Add sugar and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
- Add the flour and cornstarch. Stir until all of the flour and cornstarch is incorporated. (The dough will be shaggy at this point.)
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and press the dough into a ball. Knead a few times until smooth, then form into a ball again and press with your hands into a flat disk.
- On a floured work surface, roll out dough to a ÂĽ-inch thickness. Keep the work surface, the dough and your rolling pin lightly dusted with flour. Each time you roll the dough, move it to an area of the work surface that has some flour. This will keep your dough from sticking when you're cutting out the cookies.
- Cut out leaves with leaf cookie cutters or cut them out free-form. Place the cutouts on the prepared pan. Re-roll scraps as many times as needed to use up the dough. Use a small sharp knife to cut shallow “veins” on each of the leaves.
- Place cutouts in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ËšF. (177ËšC).
- Remove cookies from the refrigerator and bake for 12-14 minutes or until just beginning to turn golden at the edges. Rotate pans halfway through for even browning.
Notes
Nutrition
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I made this for Thanksgiving. It was delicious! Not being a good crust maker, I liked being able to press the crust in . Easy-peesy. All of our guests loved it. One guest left a note in my mailbox thanking my husband and I for inviting them . At the end of the note, she put in large letters that the pumpkin tart was the best she’d ever had. I’d agree, it is the best! Will be making this for Christmas!
Awesome! Thank you for the review, Donna Jo!
What cookie cutters did you use? They look perfect.
Hi Peg, I use these: https://amzn.to/47M2pHT
And then I use a small knife to score the veins.
I absolutely love shortbread cookies, so I was so excited to try this recipe. I have a 10 inch tart pan and it did not fill it. I'm thinking I would need to have at least another half of the dough recipe. I was making this ahead of a fall dinner party to make sure it came out perfect. So glad I did. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Paula
Hi Paula, I'm assuming that you mean the crust did not fill your 10-inch tart pan. I have used a 10-inch tart pan successfully numerous times with this recipe but it needs to be pressed in a little thinner than with a 9-inch pan. It comes out really crisp and delicious but, if you prefer a thicker crust, yes, I would go with 1½ times the crust recipe.
Look forward to making it! I'm wondering is the recipie for the filling the same as the ususal tried ans true Libbys pumpkin pie filling scaled down?. Id like to make a full batch of filling and bake off the excess in custard cups for a lower fat chefs treat. Thanks!
Hi Nancy, yes this is the traditional Libby's pumpkin pie filling! I did scale it down to properly fill this crust.
Dear Chris,
Are you sure about the bake time for this pie recipe? I think it may be too short.
Thank you for all your delicious recipes!
Warm regards,
Jan
Hi Jan, that's the correct time with my oven. However, every oven is a little different so I would use this as a suggestion and bake the tart until it's not wobbly in the center and a knife comes out clean.
I made this for our thanksgiving celebration this year and it worked great. I even surprised myself by making the cookies. Turned out great and the bake time felt accurate (actually pulled it out earlier but it needed the time specified as it was still jiggly). The only thing that happened was that there was a lot of butter that leaked out while baking the pie. Did not affect the taste or texture though. Maybe next time I’ll freeze the par baked shell a little before adding the filling. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you for the review, Beth!
Love this recipe. Easy and delicious! Made the cookies earlier with your shortbread recipe. They are always a hit.
Happy Thanksgiving
Love your recipes. I use them daily
Wonderful! Thanks for the kind review, Kristin!
Chris,
Thank you for this lovely recipe. The pie looks wonderful and has prompted me to bake instead of buy one for the first time in 20 years. I am trying to maximize the use of my tart pan and am wondering if the press in crusts could be pre baked and either sit out for is day or two or if they could be refrigerated/frozen before/after baking?
That's so awesome, Beth!
Regarding your question, yes, the tart shell can be parbaked and then cooled completely before storing in an airtight container or ziplock bag. It will be fine at room temp until you're ready to fill and bake!
Happy Thanksgiving Chris. Thank you for the quick reply. Among many other blessings, I am so grateful for all the recipes you share throughout the year, specially the ridiculously easy ones. Those are my favorites.
Thanks so much, Beth!
Thank you!
I am also having trouble opening the crust recipe and have no luck with the search function. It keeps bringing me to the plum tart. It would be great to have that recipe as a stand-alone. Thank you
Hi Andrea, just refresh your page, it’s there now! It is a stand alone recipe. Sorry for the glitch!
This looks good and I'm gonna try it. The crust didn't show up but I just searched for it and copied it from your lemon chess tart. I have a small suggestion on the pics (and I really don't mean to sound like I'm nitpicking) but on one of the views of all the recipes, could you please show it from the side of a cut slice, etc, so we can see the thickness and how they look? Most of the time you do, but I always like seeing them not just from the top. Thanks in advance. Hope Scott is improving.
Hi Brenda, the link works now! The lemon chess tart has a different crust.
Regarding the pictures, you’re right, we do generally show a cut piece. We were in a bit of a time crunch the day we shot this tart. If you look at the pics of the crust, however, it will help to see the thickness.
I also am not able to open the recipe for the crust.
Hi Janet, I'm not sure why that happened but it's fixed now! Thanks for letting me know!
This pie is beautiful! I’m having trouble getting the recipe for the crust, each time I try the link comes up with an error. Love your blog. Thank you.
Sorry for that glitch, Debbie! I'm not sure why that happened but it's fixed now! Thanks for letting me know!