A little history
In October 1940, the Evening Star called this "a recipe from 16th Century Old England." Take that date with a grain of salt. The earliest English pumpkin pie recipes anyone has found are from the 1650s, about a century later.
The original recipe
APPLE-PUMPKIN PIE.
(A recipe from 16th Century Old England.)
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2 cups peeled, thinly sliced apples.
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2 cups peeled, thinly sliced pumpkin.
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¾ cup sugar.
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1 teaspoon cinnamon.
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¼ teaspoon ginger.
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½ teaspoon salt.
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¼ teaspoon orange flavoring or 2 teaspoons grated orange rind.
Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry and fill with apple and pumpkin slices; sprinkle with sugar, spices and salt. Add flavoring or grated orange rind. Moisten edge of crust, cover with top crust and press edges together; brush crust with milk or cream. Bake 450 degrees F. for ten minutes; then 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes.
What to use today
Makes one 9-inch pie
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Pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie, homemade or store-bought
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2 cups peeled, thinly sliced tart apples, such as Granny Smith
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2 cups peeled, thinly sliced sugar pumpkin or butternut squash
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¾ cup sugar
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1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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¼ teaspoon ground ginger
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½ teaspoon salt
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2 teaspoons grated orange zest, or ¼ teaspoon orange extract
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Milk or cream, for brushing
Method
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Heat the oven to 450°F.
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Line a 9-inch pie plate with the bottom crust.
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Slice the apples and pumpkin thin, about ⅛ inch, so they cook through at the same rate.
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Layer the apple and pumpkin slices in the crust.
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Mix the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, and sprinkle it over the fruit. Sprinkle on the orange zest, or drizzle the extract over the top.
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Wet the edge of the bottom crust with a little water. Lay the top crust over, press the edges together, and crimp. Cut a few slits in the top.
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Brush the top with milk or cream.
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Bake 10 minutes at 450°F, then turn the oven down to 350°F and bake 50 minutes more, until the crust is golden and a knife slides easily through the pumpkin.
A few things worth knowing
Use a pie pumpkin, not a jack-o'-lantern. Small sugar pumpkins are sweeter and less stringy. Butternut squash is easier to peel and works well too.
Slice the pumpkin thin. Raw pumpkin is firmer than apple. Thin slices keep it from staying crunchy.
Put a pan underneath. Fruit pies can bubble over, so set a baking sheet on the rack below.
Let it cool. Give it at least an hour so the juices settle before you slice.
Good with
A scoop of vanilla ice cream or plain whipped cream. It's a nice option for anyone at the table who doesn't like custard pumpkin pie.
Sources
Apple-Pumpkin Pie, Evening Star, Washington, D.C., October 18, 1940. Clipping via Newspapers.com.
Folger Shakespeare Library, "Pumpkin pie recipe from 17th-century England," Shakespeare & Beyond: https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/pumpkin-pie-recipe-17th-century-england/
British Food: A History, "Sixth Course: Pompion Pye (1658)": https://britishfoodhistory.com/2015/11/24/sixth-course-pompion-pye/
Tasting History, "Pumpion Pie": https://www.tastinghistory.com/recipes/pumpionpie