Canned pumpkin. Mrs Mag and I made pumpkin pies from scratch one year. They were about this much better (Magslinger holds his finger and thumb 1/64th of an inch apart) than those made with canned “pumpkin.” With all of the extra work involved, forget it.
There is a local bakery that makes topping ready pizza crusts that are better than anything in a grocery store and most pizzerias.
I always use a good brand of plain canned pumpkin for my punkin’ pies too. Works great.
Also makes a good starting point for a semi-spicy cream of pumpkin soup I make sometimes. (as long as I remember to make sure it’s the plain pumpkin and not the pre-spiced pie filling kind, LOL.)