Famous Pumpkin Pie

Line a 9-inch pie pan with the pie dough. Flute the dough so the edge stands about 1/2 inch above the rim. (Libby's does not suggest this, but to reduce crust shrinkage, loosely cover the shell with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 30 minutes.) Discard plastic wrap before filled pie.

Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and place a baking sheet on the rack. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In the order given, place all the remaining ingredients except the whipped cream in a large bowl and mix well. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Place on the hot baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire cake rack. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. (The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead.) Serve chilled, with the whipped cream.

FOR DEEP-DISH PUMPKIN PIE (made with frozen crust): Substitute one 9-inch (4-cup capacity) deep-dish frozen pie shell for the homemade crust. Preheat the oven, and a baking sheet, as above, to 375 degrees F. While the oven preheats, allow the crust to thaw for 20 minutes. Recrimp the pie shell so the edge stands 1/2 inch above the rim. Pour the filling into the crust and bake until the pie tests done with a knife as above, about 70 minutes.

FOR DOUBLE-BATCH PUMPKIN PIE (made with frozen crusts): The pumpkin mixture will fill two regular (not deep-dish) piecrusts. Let the crusts thaw slightly while you mix the filling. Preheat the oven, and a baking sheet, as above, to 375 degrees F. Pour the filling into the crusts and bake until the pies test done as above, about 45 minutes.

NOTE: The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead.