So gringo, you want to make Pumpkin Pie in Chile? Here’s how I did it. Finding canned pumpkin was reportedly possible in 2010, but after weeks of searching, I didn’t find it so I used fresh zapallo from the feria. Most U.S. people will tell you squash make better pumpkin pies, and zapallo works just fine.
Below is the recipe I used to make my zapallo-pumpkin pie. I used the recipe from THIS site for the filling and an oreo crust. I’m repeating it here with my slight modifications. I chose to do an oreo crust because it is easier and fancier.
I also had to convert everything into cubic centimeters because that’s the only measuring cup I had. This conversion website was my best friend.
Oreo Crust
24 Oreos (I used vanilla Triton Cookies)
(60cc) 1/4 cup butter, melted (the closer you get to Los Condes, the cheaper real butter is, I used con sal)
I removed the cream from a third of the cookies so it wouldn’t be too sweet. We put them in a ziplock bag and Carlos put his muscles to work with the rolling pin, crushing them until they were fine. Watching this video was really helpful. Carlos pressed in the crust to the greased pie plate and pressed it in evenly with the bottom of a drinking glass. We stored it in the fridge.
Filling
The original recipe calls for damasco marmalade to be put on the crust before putting in the filling, but I skipped this since we used and oreo crust.
I cut the zapallo into about inch cubes, microwaved covered by an inch in water until soft (~15 minutes). I drained as much water as possible from them, this is important because you don’t want your pure to be too watery. Some recipes suggest roasting the pieces for a bit before making the pure to reduce the water or letting them strain for a day.I let my pure sit out for 5 hours and evaporate some water in the dry air. Carlos thought the crust needed more moisture, so it might have helped that my pure had some water. We mashed them until smooth with a potato masher. Here’s where a hand-mixer or food processor will help to achieve a smooth texture. I didn’t have either, so I did have some small fibrous chunks here and there (no one minded in the least).
Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the pure. Add both creams and the lightly beaten eggs to the mixture. Ours was disturbingly watery, like a thin pudding, but apparently pumpkin pie batter tends to be thinner in general. Don’t freak out. Gently ladle the mixture into your crust, make sure the pie plate isn’t too cold when it goes into the oven. Bake until firm (I don’t know what temperature we baked ours at since the oven doesn’t say) but the website suggests 160C (320F) for 55 minutes. I probably baked it cooler and longer, but until firm and a knife comes out clean is fine. Let it cool slowly and put in the fridge for 4 hours after it is near room temperature.
The delicious finished product.
Pelo de choclo 
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It has never occurred to me to use vanilla Oreos for pie crust. I bet it’s delicious with pumpkin or squash pie.
The only vanilla part of them is the cream… I specified since the Triton cookies come with stuff like cappuccino cream…. that’s one I’d like to try with a chocolate mousse cake, mmmmm.