All you need to do is firm up the bottom enough to prevent it from being underbaked, leaking, or disintegrating into the pumpkin filling all together. This type of crust is never going to get super crisp down there, though, just firm enough. I've successfully pre-baked this crust by leaving long ends. Let them hang over all the sides of the pie pan. You may have to scale up the recipe to do this. Then place a layer of parchment paper over top. Fill that with beans or baking beads right up to the very edge, heaping even. Let the crust rest and cool a good half an hour before trying to remove the beads, paper, and the excess crust. I finish baking the extras on a cookie sheet and serve them on the plates because it's delicious and I hate wasting it. If this all sounds like too much bother for too little pay off, consider a cookie or graham cracker-type crust on the bottoms of your pies and saving this lovely flaky crust for the tops- best of both worlds really! I cut into it before baking using cookie cutters to make a nice pattern for some added decoration and sometimes do a thin sprinkle of raw sugar over the top for some added sparkle. Hope this helps!

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