I would have to taste the costco pie to know.
But you can add some ground pecans to the crust once you get it into the pie plate....just press them in.
Try adding another 2 eggs to the libby recipe and and a cup of cream....add also an extra 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 tsps vanilla.
It will make more than one pie...but the extra can go into custard cups for a crustless dessert.
Then top your pies with a few chopped pecans before baking....or mix half a pint of sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp of vanilla....spoon on top of the baked but still hot pie and put back into the oven for another 12 to 15 minutes..
But don't let your family think Costco can do better than you can!
Try adding an 8 oz package or room temp cream cheese to the libby's recipe....try adding some chopped candied ginger....try making it in a gingersnap crumb crust!

Thank you Linda for those good ideas. I'll try one for sure, probably the first one. I'll definitely add the pecans to the crust as well.

You are a life saver!!

Ginny

Well, it's not pie but last year I made pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust. Everyone loved it. This year Elery is making sweet potato pie, he swears it's better.

Annie

Ginny - send your husband to Costco to battle the crowds and get the pie. One less thing for you to bake while you put your feet up with a glass of wine. :-)

I say make what YOU like and tell the rest to go to Denny's!

I LOVE Costco pumpkin pie!

If they like the Costco pumpkin pie, why not give them Costco pumpkin pie?

A funny story I meant to add . . .

Back when Costco first introduced pumpkins pies at Thanksgiving, my husband went to wait in line for one. They were literally selling them as fast as they could bake them. People were just crazy, and one woman had a pie in her cart, but realized she needed to grab something from a nearby aisle. My DH offered to watch her cart for her, as he was standing there waiting anyway. The woman refused, saying she didn't trust him to not steal her pie!

"This year Elery is making sweet potato pie, he swears it's better.

Annie"

It will seem like a fraudulent pumpkin pie!

Ginny - I add a little lard (1/3 cup) and butter or butter crisco to my pie crust too - and a little cinnamon when I remember it.

I am going to pre-bake the crust - aka blind bake - because I just don't like unbaked bottom crust that most pies have - even the bakery ones...and I think most of them are too sweet and not enough spices.

--gloria

Gloria, I've been partially pre-baking the crusts for pumpkin & pecan pies for a long time. That's the only way I can manage to get the bottom crust cooked. Have to shield the crimps to keep them from getting too brown. The odd thing is that I don't remember Mom having these kind of problems. Must have been that O'Keefe & Merritt oven was far superior to anything I've owned?

I've gone to an all butter crust (haven't tried lard) because the hydrogenated shortening crusts were giving me a belly ache. That, after all these years of enjoying a pretty much cast iron stomach.

And I hear ya on Too Sweet. Neighbor offered me a sliver of store-bakery blackberry pie a couple of days ago. Oh, do I ever love blackberries so I could not refuse. And it was a decent pie exCept that it was too damned sweet.

A tip for getting the bottom of the crust done: bake the pie on the lowest rack in the oven. Glass pans help too, but metal pans work if the pie is on the lowest rack.

I agree with ruthanna -- other than the crust -- you can't much tell the difference between a homemade PP and a store bought one...

"If they like the Costco pumpkin pie, why not give them Costco pumpkin pie?"

I agree, 100% ! ! ! !

Thanksgiving is about remembering all we have to be thankful for,
about families being together and enjoying each other.

So why stress out about something relatively unimportant?

If homemade pie is important to you, make a different kind,
to supplement the Costco pumpkin pie.
Or maybe even a completely different type of dessert.

Rusty

You gals (guys if there is one here) are the greatest! Thank you so much for your feedback. One of the things I'm certainly thankful for this Thanksgiving is all my friends on GardenWeb and other online discussion groups.

I enjoy cooking from scratch, more so as I get older. My mother and her mother certainly did and it's a tradition I want to pass on to my daughters. With your ideas on how to improve the standard Libby's recipe I have high hopes for this years pie.

I hope your Thanksgiving is all that you hope for, surrounded by friends, family, good food and peace in your heart after all the preparation.

Ginny

Ginny, even 1/4 c. wheat germ added to the crust improves both taste and texture. It has a sweetness and nutty character and adds nice color too since it's sort of golden in color.

barbarag: Just an FYI: the original post is from 2010.

Houzz is amazing in that they sent me a notice that someone had posted to my question which yes, was written in 2010. He still buys Costco pies and I've given up trying to make one he likes better. Merry Christmas!

Old thread i know, but i've had the Costco, though not bought it personally. It is a bit lighter color and very creamy. Not heavily spiced but definitely a real fine puree. Less grainy, more cream, and slightly under-baked. We like mine fine. I could see maybe giving it a good whirl in the Blendtec, then a rest. Maybe a chunk of cream cheese if i had some on hand.