Photos show how common baking mistakes can drastically change your pumpkin pie

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• I purposely made mistakes as I was baking pumpkin pies to see how each would affect the treat's texture and taste.
• From forgetting the eggs to mistaking condensed milk for evaporated milk, I think the recipe leaves a lot of room for error.
• I got a darker pie when I left out milk and a drippy, runny filling when I left out the eggs.
• Ultimately, though, I was surprised that none of the pies actually tasted bad — even the one without milk.

I have never made — and seldom have I eaten — pumpkin pie. While I consider myself an avid home cook, I'm also an impatient, anxious baker. The measuring, math, and precise nature of the activity just aren't for me.

After messing up banana bread, pancakes, chocolate-chip cookies, and more goodies of the sort, I was curious to see what would happen if I slipped up while making this classic autumn dessert. So, I made eight mistakes with the pie (on purpose!) and kept track of the results.

For consistency, I used the same simple recipe, which I found on the back of a can of Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin (the recipe is also available on the brand's website), to make each batch. I chose to use Keebler's premade pie crusts ensuring the filling was the only part I was messing up.

From adding too much evaporated milk to trying to use pumpkin pie spice instead of the called-for combination of four separate spices, here's what happened to my pies.