To come up with a healthier holiday pie, Consumer Reports food testers tried several variations of the recipe found on the label of Libby's canned pumpkin, with a commercial frozen piecrust. The one we came up with has 70 fewer calories per slice (190 vs. 260), 4 fewer grams of total fat (6 vs.10), and 2 fewer grams of saturated fat (2 vs. 4) than the standard recipe. And our volunteer tasters, who weren't involved in developing the recipe, liked it and didn't even ask if it was low-fat or low-cal.

Our recipe uses Libby's canned pumpkin, but any similar product—even roasted sugar pumpkin—would probably work as well. The cooks used Domino Pure D'Lite, which combines sugar with the artificial sweeteners acesulfame potassium and neotame. It contains two-thirds the calories of regular sugar, performed well in our previous baking tests, and doesn't appear to pose health risks. Look for a frozen piecrust that has no more than about 90 calories, 5 grams of total fat, and 2 grams of saturated fat per serving.

A lighter holiday treat
(One 9-inch pie, eight servings)

½ cup Domino Pure D'Lite sugar-blend substitute
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 large egg plus 2 egg whites
1 15-oz can Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 12-oz can evaporated fat-free milk
1 9-inch commercial frozen piecrust

To make pie:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Mix sugar blend, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves in a small bowl. Beat egg and egg whites in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar-spice mixture and pumpkin. Gradually add milk.
3. Place crust on baking sheet (to catch drips). Pour filling into the pie shell.
4. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 35-40 minutes more or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the pie cool before slicing.

This article first appeared in the December 2008 issue of Consumer Reports on Health.