We Tried That: 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' Cookbook Features a Fancy Pumpkin Pie Recipe

I don't care if you see The Nightmare Before Christmas as a Halloween movie or a Christmas film, because the official cookbook has something for both seasons and that's that. And when I tried a recipe from The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Baking Cookbook, I purposely chose one that both sides of the debate can enjoy — the Pumpkin King Pumpkin Pie.

The pie is a tribute for Jack Skellington and really, is there a more fitting name for a pie dedicated to the star of the film? Even if you aren't partial to pumpkin pie during the fall and winter holidays, it's hard not to want to indulge when it's all about The Nightmare Before Christmas. I can't promise this recipe will be the easiest one to tackle, but it doesn't require any Deadly Nightshade or Frog's Breath, so there's that.

The recipe for the Pumpkin King Pumpkin Pie involves making both the pie crust and filling from scratch. You then have to add a homemade whipped topping to it and use homemade ganache to create Jack's iconic face in the middle of the chilled whipped topping. Once you put all of these things together, you get a pie that is taken up several notches from the standard pumpkin pie you might find on a grocery store shelf.

For starters, the crust is made to taste more like gingersnaps than the usual graham cracker crust. And the filling, while made with pumpkin, just has more flavor in general, likely because it is from scratch. The maple whipping cream I could do without, because there are already so many other flavors going on here. But either way, The Nightmare Before Christmas pumpkin pie will likely make you the hit of any holiday party, if I'm being honest.

Starting on Oct. 3, you can find The Nightmare Before Christmas cookbook on Amazon for $19.58. However, you will also be able to find it in-store at some Target locations. In addition to the Pumpkin King Pumpkin Pie, there are tons of other recipes that range from being just as intricate to being a tad on the easier side. You know, in case you have a younger Nightmare Before Christmas fan who isn't quite ready to whisk a bowl of hot ganache.

And the best part is that you can make something for the Halloween season and you won't even have to pack the cookbook away when Nov. 1 rolls around since some of the recipes work for other holidays too. If you decide to go with the pumpkin pie, though, just take my advice and take your time. You'll thank me later.