Spice by the slice

When pastry chef Denise Ware of Virginia’s Southside Cafe makes pumpkin pie she sticks with tradition.

“There are so many different ways to make (pumpkin desserts),” she said. “You can even use pumpkin for bread, pumpkin bars, pumpkin cheesecake or spice cake.”

Ms. Ware said her favorite pumpkin dessert is pie topped with whipped cream.

American Indians introduced the orange squash to colonists from England, who in turn began slicing the top off the pumpkin, removing the seeds and filling the insides with milk and spices.

Below are recipes from allrecipes.coms for three innovative pumpkin pies that could be the beginning of new traditions on your Thanksgiving table.

Caramel-Pecan Pumpkin Pie

This recipe combines two Thanksgiving pie favorites.

2 eggs

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

1⁄2 cup half-and-half

3⁄4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1⁄8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 (9-inch) prepared pie shell

3⁄4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

3 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 375 F. Beat the eggs, pumpkin and half-and-half together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the sugar, flour, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice until evenly blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared pie shell. Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil strips to prevent burning. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the pecan caramel topping by mixing the brown sugar, pecans and butter together in a bowl until evenly blended. Carefully spoon over the top of the pie. Continue baking the pie until the topping is golden and bubbly and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes more. Cool on a wire rack.

Ice Cream Pumpkin Pie

11⁄2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened

3 eggs

13⁄4 cups pumpkin puree

3⁄4 cup white sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger

1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 (9-inch) unbaked pie shells

Heat oven to 425 F. Place ice cream near the warm oven to soften. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin puree, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Mix in soft ice cream until smooth. Pour filling into two 9-inch pie shells.

Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 350 F and bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until filling is set.

Double-Layer No-Bake Pumpkin Pie

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon white sugar

11⁄2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (9-inch) prepared graham cracker crust

1 cup cold milk

2 (3.5-ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix

1 (15-ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves

In a large bowl, whisk together cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of milk and sugar until smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread into bottom of crust. Pour 1 cup of milk into large bowl, and thoroughly mix in pudding mix, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. When thickened, spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.