Mini Meringue Pumpkins Food

MINI MERINGUE PUMPKINS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Add pie spice and vanilla. , Place egg white mixture in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 1-1/2-in.-diameter pumpkins onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. In a small resealable plastic bag, combine the orange sugar and glitter. Seal bag; crush mixture to break glitter into small pieces. Sprinkle over pumpkins. , Bake at 250° for 40-45 minutes or until set and dry. Turn oven off; leave meringues in oven for 1-1/2 hours. , Carefully remove meringues from parchment paper. Cut leaf and vine shapes from fruit roll; attach to pumpkins with a dab of frosting. Store in an airtight container.

MINI MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Gradually beat in sugar until a little of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger feels smooth, not gritty. Stir in vanilla. Pipe or spoon small portions onto baking tray and bake 35 minutes, or until dry but not brown. Turn off oven and leave meringues to cool inside.

PUMPKIN MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• For crust:
• Combine flour, butter, sugar, and salt in bowl of electric mixer. Place bowl in freezer 15 minutes. Using electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat mixture on low speed until pea-size clumps form. Drizzle 1/3 cup ice water over mixture and beat just until dough comes together. Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before using.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Fold in overhang, forming double-thick sides. Crimp dough edge decoratively. Refrigerate crust 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line crust with foil. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Bake until golden brown, placing aluminum foil collar around edge of crust if browning too quickly, about 15 minutes. Cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)
• For filling:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk pumpkin, cream, maple sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in large bowl to blend. Whisk in eggs. Pour mixture into crust. Place aluminum foil collar around edge of crust. Bake until filling is set and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool to room temperature.
• For meringue:
• Preheat broiler. Whisk egg whites and sugar in large metal bowl until combined. Place bowl over saucepan of simmering water and continue whisking until mixture is just warm, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Using electric mixer, beat egg-white mixture on medium-high speed until stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Spread meringue atop pie, mounding in center. Place pie in broiler and broil until meringue is brown, about 1 minute. Cool to room temperature. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

MERINGUE GHOSTS AND PUMPKINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed until very foamy and almost forming soft peaks. Add the cream of tartar and salt and increase the mixer speed to medium high. Gradually add the sugar while mixing, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Remove 1/4 cup of the meringue to a small bowl and stir in 2 drops of green gel food coloring until fully incorporated. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
• Transfer half of the remaining meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Set aside.
• Add 4 drops of orange gel food coloring to the meringue still in the mixer bowl and mix until incorporated. Dip a toothpick or skewer into the bottle of orange gel food coloring and drag 3 or 4 lines of food coloring lengthwise along the inside of a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip, spacing the lines apart evenly. Transfer the orange meringue to this piping bag.
• Pipe a dot of meringue in each corner of a baking sheet and press a sheet of parchment paper on top, using the dots to keep it in place. Make ghosts by piping the white meringue into small mounds on the parchment, alternating pressure on the piping bag to create two or three stacked mounds for each ghost. Carefully press two mini chocolate chips, flat-side out, to make eyes for each ghost. Press another mini chocolate chip, pointy-tip up, in each of a few ghosts to make a mouth.
• Make pumpkins by piping the striped orange meringue into small mounds, making sure to hold the piping tip far enough above the baking sheet so that they have some height. Pipe leaves and stems with the green meringue on top of each pumpkin. Carefully press mini chocolate chips, pointy-tip up, into some of the pumpkins to make the eyes and a nose. Line up 4 or 5 chips the same way to make a mouth for each jack-o'-lantern.
• Bake the meringues for 1 hour, then turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside with the door closed for 2 hours 30 minutes more to fully dry out.

MINI PUMPKIN PIES

Steps:

• Roll out pastry dough to 1/4 inch thickness.
• Cut out 2-1/2" circles from the dough.
• You should have 15.
• Place each circle in a muffin cup and push in to fit pan.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, beat together pumpkin, sugar, milk, egg and vanilla.
• Add the pudding mix and beat until blended.
• It will thicken nicely.
• Add spices.
• Stir to combine.
• Fill pastry crusts evenly.
• Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
• Cool on rack.
• When cool, you can place in a rigid freezer container with layers of waxed paper in between.
• Freeze until needed.
• You can thaw these in the refrigerator or put in the microwave for about 1 minute.
• This depends on the wattage of your micro.
• If you want to add meringue, first mix together the cornstarch and cold water.
• Add to 1/2 cup boiling water.
• Cook over low heat until it thickens.
• Set aside to cool.
• Beat egg whites, dash of salt, and sugar until stiff.
• Add cooled cornstarch mixture to beaten egg white mixture.
• Put on pie, making sure it covers the edges well.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.