Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix Your Own and Keep It Fresh

You popped the lid on the pumpkin pie spice the night before Thanksgiving, sniffed, and got mostly dust. Mix your own from four ground spices at 1 part ginger, 1 part cinnamon, 1/2 part nutmeg and 1/8 part cloves, then stir it into the filling a day before you bake so the flavors can blend overnight.

That ratio comes from King Arthur's pumpkin pie, which uses 2 5/8 tsp of spice in one 9 in (23 cm) pie. Freshness is the other half. Houseland's wall spice rack is a single row, 3.9 to 4.1 in (10 to 10.5 cm) deep, so a small dated jar sits in plain view instead of behind the bulk bags.

What goes into pumpkin pie spice, and in what ratio?

Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves do the work; allspice and mace are optional extras. There's no fixed recipe. We pulled the three store blends with ingredient lists in USDA FoodData Central, and no two of them match.

Cinnamon sits first on all three labels. Under 21 CFR 101.4, ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance by weight, so cinnamon is the heaviest thing in each jar. After that, it's house style.

King Arthur's ratio gives ginger the same weight as cinnamon: 1 tsp each, plus 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp cloves. The recipe describes the result as a rich, spicy pie with a bright flavor, and it adds an optional 1/8 tsp of black pepper. The same page suggests a generous 2 1/2 tsp of a premixed blend if you'd rather use a jar.

Cinnamon runs the show. Ginger decides whether anyone asks for the recipe.

How do you mix a jar of your own?

Multiply King Arthur's per-pie ratio by six. You get one small jar that covers six pies, with some left for the oatmeal and the latte you swore you'd make at home.

1. 2 tbsp (6 tsp) ground ginger.
2. 2 tbsp (6 tsp) ground cinnamon.
3. 1 tbsp (3 tsp) ground nutmeg, or grate it from a whole nutmeg.
4. 3/4 tsp ground cloves, leveled. Cloves are loud.
5. Optional: 3/4 tsp finely ground black pepper, the same 1/8 tsp per pie King Arthur lists.
6. Close the jar, shake until the color is even, and write the date on the lid.

Here's the arithmetic. Six plus six plus three plus 3/4 is 15 3/4 tsp, about 5 1/4 tbsp. Divide 15 3/4 by the 2 5/8 tsp one pie needs and you get exactly 6 pies. USDA FoodData Central lists 1 tsp of the premixed blend at 1.7 g, so the batch weighs a little under 1 oz (15 3/4 x 1.7 = about 27 g).

Grate the nutmeg if you can. Penn State Extension says whole cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon sticks keep their quality beyond two years, while ground spices should be checked after six months. There's more on how long ground spices last before they go flat.

Six pies, one jar, no dust.

Once the blend has a jar, it needs a spot where you can see it, out of the oven's heat and the window's light. Recommended for this use case: a baker who wants her pie blend in view next to the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves it's made from should pick the Small 11.4 in (29 cm) wide shelf, listed at around six standard 4 oz jars in a single row, on a wall away from the oven and the window.

From the shop

Wall Mounted Spice Rack, Steel Wire Grid Shelf with Wood Base

Best for a short row of homemade blends in small jars; powder-coated steel wire on a solid wood base, 11.4, 13.8 or 17.5 in (29, 35 or 44.5 cm) wide and 3.9 to 4.1 in (10 to 10.5 cm) deep; an open front, so hang it out of sun and stove heat.

View the wire spice rack — 3 sizes & current price

Why should the filling rest overnight before baking?

Because the spices need time to spread through the custard. King Arthur tells bakers to cover and refrigerate the filling overnight before baking to let the spices' flavor blend, and it lists mixing a day ahead as one of two hints for a better pie.

That suits a holiday week. Whisk the sugars, 1 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp salt and the spice. Beat in 3 large eggs, one 15 oz (425 g) can of pumpkin and 1 1/4 cups of light cream or evaporated milk. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge. Wednesday night's bowl of filling is Thursday morning's pie, with the oven free for everything else.

Raw eggs make the fridge part non-negotiable. The FDA says to store eggs promptly at 40°F (4°C) or below and never leave egg dishes out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour when it's above 90°F (32°C).

Spice needs a sleepover. Give it one.

How do you know when the pie is done?

Pull it while the center still wobbles. King Arthur's timing for a 9 in (23 cm) pie goes like this:

• Roll the dough to a 13 in (33 cm) circle and use a pan at least 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm) deep.
• Heat the oven to 400°F (204°C) and set the pie pan on a baking sheet to catch drips.
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until the filling is set about 2 in (5 cm) in from the edge.
• Cool on a rack; the center finishes cooking as the pie sits.
• Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.

The wobble has a reason. Pumpkin pie filling is basically a custard, and King Arthur says leaving it in too long overcooks the eggs, tightens the proteins and cracks the center. Heat keeps moving from the edge inward after the pie leaves the oven.

If you like a number next to the jiggle, the FDA's line for dishes containing eggs is 160°F (71°C), and an instant-read thermometer is the only way to see it. If the crust is the part that makes you nervous, here's how to transfer pie dough to the pan without it tearing.

Take it out while it jiggles. The rack does the rest.

How long does a homemade spice mix stay fresh?

Plan on about six months, then let your nose decide. The two extension services we checked disagree, and the gap is wide.

Texas A&M notes that professional cooks may say 6 months, while home cooks can go by its longer ranges. Neither is wrong. Spices don't spoil like milk; they fade. The longer list tells you when a jar is still usable, and the shorter one tells you when it's still at its best.

So test before every pie. Texas A&M's checks are a strong aroma, a potent taste and a vibrant color; Penn State says to replace a spice once its characteristic aroma has faded. Rub a pinch between two fingers. Warm and sharp means bake. Flat and dusty means mix a new jar.

A rack, a drawer or a pretty jar can't bring a flat blend back; only fresh spice can.

The date on the lid is a reminder. Your nose is the judge.

Where should the spice jar live between pies?

Somewhere dark, dry and away from heat. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension says to store dried spices in tightly covered containers, ideally inside a cabinet or drawer, and to avoid spots above the dishwasher, microwave, stove or refrigerator, or near a sink or heating vent. Penn State says the same in fewer words: airtight containers, dry places, away from sunlight and heat.

An open shelf breaks the dark part of that rule, ours included. Texas A&M allows it on one condition: if you store spices on an open rack, pick a site away from heat, light and moisture. The wall right over the burners fails that test, and the wall above the stove is a poor spot for a spice rack for the same reason.

Houseland's wall mounted spice rack is one tier of powder-coated steel wire on a solid natural-wood base, with two screw-in hooks and two adhesive pads in the box. The trade-off is the open front, so it belongs on a shaded wall, and the listing's advice is to use the screws when the shelf carries full glass jars.

A row of around six standard 4 oz jars takes the four single spices plus the pie blend, with one spot to spare. More storage ideas for a small kitchen are in the kitchen and home collection.

Keep the jar where you'll see it, and where the oven can't reach it.

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