Mini Pumpkin Pies
These pumpkin pies might be mini in size but not in flavor. They are made with a traditional butter pie crust but you don't need to blind bake!
Servings: 6 pies
Ingredients
For the pie crust
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 1/4 cup ice water or as needed
For the pumpkin pie filling
- 2/3 cups (150 grams) pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- scant 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of ground cloves
- 100 ml (scant half cup) half and half or sub heavy cream
Instructions
Make the pie crust dough:
- In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt until combined. Then add the cubes of butter and pulse until it forms small pea-sized pieces. Then add 1 tablespoon of the iced water at a time, pulsing in between, until the dough just starts to clump together. (See notes below for a no food processor alternative)
- Dump the dough out onto a work surface and gather into a cohesive ball, trying to touch it as little as possible. Flatten it slightly into a disk and wrap in plastic. Then chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Make the pumpkin pie filling:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, egg, and brown sugar. Then add the cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Whisk until incorporated. Then pour in the half and half and whisk until the mixture is well combined and smooth.
Assemble the pies:
- Preheat oven to 410ºF. Grease six cups of a standard muffin tin with oil.
- Once the dough has chilled, remove from fridge and use a sharp knife or bench scraper to divide into 6 even pieces. Roll one piece into a ball and use a rolling pin to flatten to roughly 1/4 inch. Then place into the prepared muffin tin and press it against the sides and bottom. Try to handle the dough as little as possible. Repeat with the remaining pieces.
- Fill each dough cup with the pumpkin pie filling. It should fill up close to the brim. Carefully transfer the muffin pan to the preheated oven and bake for 26-30 minutes. The centers will still be slightly wobbly, but not liquid. Once done baking, let the pies rest in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully removing with a knife. Finish cooling on a wire rack. Enjoy!
Notes
Make sure that your butter is cold. I like to place the butter in the freezer for 1 hour before I make the dough.
If you don't have a food processor, add the flour and salt to a large bowl and whisk together. Then add the cubed butter and cut into the flour using a pastry cutter or fork. Then add the iced water one tablespoon at a time and mix in using a fork. Then continue with the recipe.
If you don't have the ground ginger or ground cloves, feel free to leave them out.