No matter how dry your turkey is or how lumpy your gravy, if you put this out for dessert, all will be forgiven. Not forgotten, all right, we are talking about family, but it will be forgiven. The good news, it’s the easiest ever for a rich pie filling that’s less likely to crack on top!

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (Do not use pumpkin pie filling, it has a bunch of stuff in it. We’re going to add our own stuff.)
3 egg yolks
1 large egg
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
the declassified spices:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice, ya know, to be mysterious
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 9-inch unbaked, prepared pie crust (It’s fine, it’s Thanksgiving, there’s a lot going on; don’t judge me. At least go around with your finger and make some imperfections so it looks like you did it yourself. It will give the impression you care.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Whisk together pumpkin puree, egg yolks, and egg in a large bowl until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and Chinese 5-spice powder; whisk until thoroughly combined.

Pour the filling into the pie crust. Give it a little shakka, shakka, and the old tappa tappa. We do this because there might be air bubbles in the filling which would cause…well they wouldn’t cause anything, absolutely no problem at all, but it’s tradition, so just do it!

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake until just set in the middle, 30 to 40 minutes. A paring knife inserted into the filling, 1 inch from the crust, should come out clean. Allow to cool completely. I like it best chilled.

Before serving, add a very sexy dollop of whip cream to each slice. In case you’re not sure how to do a very sexy dollop of whip cream, it’s all about that half turn at the end: give it a twist, three thrusts and the pull. Then dust with cinnamon to give it the magazine quality look.

serves 8