Recipe: Arkansas' Best Pumpkin Pie

ARKANSAS' BEST PUMPKIN PIE

9-inch unbaked pie shell
FOR THE FILLING:
1 3/4 cups canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter or Butter Flavor Crisco
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
GARNISHES:
6 to 8 pecan halves, optional
Sweetened, whipped cream, optional

Prepare favorite pie dough for a single crust, and line pie plate; flute edge; do not prick bottom.

Preeat oven to 350 degrees F, with shelf in lowest position.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Stir until smooth. Pour into unbaked pie crust.

TO MAKE THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
Combine flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt. Mix with a fork or cut together with a wire pastry blender until coarse crumbs form. Stir in chopped pecans. Sprinkle over filling, leaving a bare patch of pumpkin filling in the center.

Bake pie at 350 degrees F for 45 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature before serving. Garnish with a circle of whipped cream, studded with pecan halves.

Servings: 8
Source: Recipe won top honors for Wincie Hughes of North Little Rock, Ark., when Procter & Gamble's Crisco division still sponsored an annual pie contest state-by-state.