Just when you think fall desserts couldn’t get any cuter, here is my recipe for Mini Pumpkin Pies. These are perfect for fall potlucks and even for your Thanksgiving dinner. Be sure to make these pies the day before you need them and keep them cold in the refrigerator.
Servings: 30 miniature pies (or 2 full size pies)
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 45 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 full recipe of my Homestyle Pie Dough
Pumpkin Pie Filling:
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/4 teaspoon ground star anise
- 1 can pumpkin puree (roughly 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/2 oz. whiskey or bourbon (optional)
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg, eaten
- 2 tablespoons water
Directions:
Begin by making my recipe for Homestyle Pie Dough.
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Lightly sprinkle flour on your work surface and rolling pin. Unwrap the pie dough and roll out the dough to 1/2 centimeter thickness using the rolling pin, rotating the dough periodically so that it does not stick to your work surface. Add more flour to your work surface and rolling pin to ensure that the dough does not stick. Once the dough is rolled out to the correct thickness, use a 10 centimeter (4 inch) round cookie cutter to cut out as many discs as you can.
Place each disc into a lightly-floured muffin tin. Push the dough into the muffin tin- don’t stretch it too much or else it will shrink. Shape the edges to form a wavy pattern, making sure to not stretch the dough too much.
Once all your mini pies have been shaped, prick the bottom of each mini pie with a fork. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, make the pie filling. Whisk the eggs and whipping cream in a large bowl until combined. Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, spices, pumpkin puree and the whiskey/bourbon if you are using it. Mix all the ingredients until they are well combined and the mixture is smooth.
Once the pie crust has cooked, remove it from the oven and immediately pour half of the mixture into the hot pie crust. Brush the edges with egg wash and bake in the oven- this time at 350°F- for 20 minutes, or until the pie filling has set.
Pre-baked filling
Fully cooked filling
You can also make garnishes for your Mini Pumpkin Pies using festive cookie cutters. I used leaf shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes from the leftover pie dough scraps. I simply arrange the cutouts on a parchment-lined baking tray, brush them with egg wash, and sprinkle them with some white sugar. Bake the cutouts for 12-15 minutes (depending on their size) or until golden brown in the oven at 350°F. When your pie is fully cooked, arrange the cutouts on top of the pie filling. Do this while the pie is still piping hot, so that the cutouts will stick to the pie filling.
As these Mini Pumpkin Pies are best served cold, let the pies come to room temperature, cover them in plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator. It even tastes BETTER the second day!
Enjoy!
