Spiced Pumpkin Pies in Flaky Butter Crust

Steps

1. Make the crust: in a large bowl, whisk the flour, the granulated sugar and half the salt.
2. Add the cold butter and rub or cut it in until most pieces are pea-sized, with some flattened flakes left.
3. Drizzle in the ice-cold water a little at a time, tossing with a fork, until the dough holds together when squeezed.
4. Divide the dough in half, flatten each into a disk, wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
5. Roll each disk to a 12-inch round on a floured surface, fit into two 9-inch pie plates, crimp the edges and freeze for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line each crust with parchment and pie weights, bake 15 minutes, remove the weights and bake 5 minutes more until dry and pale golden. Lower the oven to 350°F (175°C).
7. Make the filling: whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and the remaining half of the salt until smooth.
8. Whisk in the eggs, then the milk, heavy cream and vanilla until silky.
9. Divide the filling evenly between the two warm crusts.
10. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until the edges are set, the center jiggles slightly and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, about 175°F (79°C); shield the crust edges with foil if they brown too fast.
11. Cool the pies on a rack for at least 2 hours until set, then cut each into 6 slices; refrigerate leftovers.