Mini Pumpkin Pies For Two Food

PUMPKIN PIE FOR TWO

Steps:

• For the crust: Put a small baking sheet on a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees F. Process the flour, butter, granulated and confectioners' sugars and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles wet crumbs and holds together when squeezed in your palm, about 2 minutes (this takes longer than seems necessary, but be patient). Divide the mixture evenly between two 5-inch aluminum pie pans or pie tins. Press the dough very firmly into the bottoms and up the sides, making sure to press it into the corners very well. Smooth and flatten the tops with your fingers or the back of a small spoon.
• Bake the crusts on the hot baking sheet until the bottom and sides are golden brown (probably more in some spots than in others), about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on a cooling rack.
• For the filling: Whisk together the eggs, cream, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and allspice in a medium bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and then the melted butter.
• Put the filling in the pie shells. Bake until puffed and the centers still look slightly wet but not loose, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before serving.
• For the lightly sweetened whipped cream: Put the cream, sugar and vanilla in a well-chilled bowl or in a bowl over ice. Beat with a whisk by hand or an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 1 minute.
• Dollop each pie with some whipped cream and serve.

MINI PUMPKIN PIES FOR TWO

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar, butter, and cream cheese. Pulse until the mixture looks like large pebbles. Alternately, add everything to a large bowl and cut in the fat using a pastry blender.
• Add the water and pulse until a dough forms. Divide the dough into two even pieces and flatten each piece into an evenly round disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or until cold.
• Preheat oven to 400F. Place two 4-inch springform pans onto a baking sheet.
• Working with one disk at a time, roll the dough into a 6 inch circle. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan (if the dough tears, patch into pieces). Repeat with the remaining disk. If the oven is still preheating, keep both pans cold in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
• Line each pie crust with greased foil, covering the bottom and sides. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove the foil and weights then bake another 5 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown and no longer looks uncooked.
• Turn the oven down to 350F. Let the crusts cool while you make the filling.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, salt, and vanilla. Whisk in the milk and heavy cream.
• Divide the filling evenly between the two crusts. Bake 45-50 minutes or until the filling is set (the center may jiggle slightly but shouldn't be wet).
• Cool for at least 2 hours then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving with whipped cream.

MINI PUMPKIN PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll each pie crust out onto a floured surface to a rough rectangle about 11 inches square. Cut each pie crust into 12 3-inch rounds. Fit the little pie crust circles into 24 mini pie dishes.
• Separate one egg, and place the egg white into a small bowl. Beat the egg white until slightly frothy, and brush the edges of each mini pie crust with egg white. Place the remaining yolk into a bowl, and beat with remaining 2 eggs. Mix the softened cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice into the eggs to make a smooth filling. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the filling into each crust.
• Bake the pies in the preheated oven until the crust edges are golden brown and the filling is set, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool before eating.

FOXY MINI GINGERSNAP PUMPKIN PIES

Steps:

• Before you begin you will need: 5 5inch tart or pie tins, food safe brush, parchment paper, wax paper, toothpicks, 2 inch leaf or fall design cookie/pie stamps, sharp kitchen knife, 1 piece card stock paper, piping bag fitted with standard coupler, small round piping tips (I used #2 & 10). The cookies and pie filling can be made the day before baking the pies for best results.
• Place 1/4 cup of the all purpose flour and the crystallized ginger in either a food processor or blender, and process until the ginger is finely chopped. Transfer the flour/ginger mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and whisk together with the rest of the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and molasses.
• Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet just until combined (being careful not to overmix).
• Divide the dough into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Once the dough is properly chilled, preheat the oven to 35o degrees. Roll 1 disk out to 1/8 inch thick between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Use the cookie stamps to cut out as many shapes as you can. You may need to dip the stamps into a little flour every so often to keep them from sticking to the dough. Transfer the cutouts to a parchment lined baking sheet, placing them about 2 inches apart. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl stir together the honey and water. Use a food safe brush to brush the honey onto the top of each cookie and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
• Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. You can continue to roll out the extra dough scraps, between the parchment paper, and cut them out until all of the first disk of dough is used up. Just make sure to chill and sprinkle with sugar before baking, as you did with the first batch.
• Roll out the second disk of dough just like the first. Cut two elongated triangles, for ears, out of the card stock paper, and place them on top of the dough. Use the knife to carefully cut 5 sets of ears out of the dough. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Cut shapes out of the rest of the dough. Chill and bake as you did previously.
• To make the pie filling, in a medium mixing bowl whisk together the spices, salt, and sugar. In a small mixing bowl beat tougher the pumpkin, eggs, and cream. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Cover and refrigerate.
• Once the cookies are fully cooled it's time to make the crust! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Transfer about 35-40 cookies to a food processor, and process until you have a sand like texture. Place the crumbs in a medium bow, and stir them together with the melted butter.
• Divide the crust evenly among the pie tins (about 4-5 tablespoons each), and firmly press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of each. Transfer the pie tins to a baking sheet, and bake for 5-8 minutes or just until they begin to brown.
• Allow the pie crusts to cool for at least 15 minutes before adding the filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the sides of the pie are set and the filling is still slightly jiggly.
• Transfer the pies to a cooling rack to cool for 2 hours, then transfer to the refrigerator to cool for 1 more hour.
• While the pies are chilling we can prep the decorations starting with the cinnamon whipped cream. Place a mixing bowl and whisk attachment into the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Add cold cream, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon to the chilled bowl and beat starting on low speed and slowly working your way up to high until stiff peeks form (about 5-7 minutes). Cover and transfer to the refrigerator.
• To make the chocolate details, place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals (at 50% power), stirring between each interval, until smooth and melted.
• Use a toothpick dipped into the melted chocolate to draw the sleepy eyes and oval noses onto wax paper. You can also draw the face design first and place the drawing under the wax paper as a guide. Allow to set.
• Decorate just before serving. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with your larger round tip (I used the #10 for this). Use a toothpick to draw where you want to pipe the whipped cream onto each pie. Fill in the areas, and use the back of a spoon to slightly smooth out the whipped cream. Change out the piping tip to the smaller size (I used #2), and press and release on the sides of each cheek to create the whiskers.
• Add the chocolate pieces, cookies ears, and any other cookies for decorations that you would like to each pie. I used a star tip to create some whipped cream swirls, and then topped with the leaf and pumpkin cookies. Enjoy! The pies will keep for 3-4 days covered and refrigerated, and for 1 month frozen. There will be extra cookies, I like to serve the pies along with a plate full of the cookies to enjoy with coffee. You can also freeze them to eat later.

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.