Drawing on mini pumpkin pies – Bunny, jack-o-lantern, pumpkin pi!
One of the hardest transitions for me has been going from prepping and cooking mass once a month recipes to trying to cook tiny portions just for two.
For the most part, I’m failing miserably and the freezer is full of leftovers, oops.
So after sleeping in on Thanksgiving (hey, that’s the perk of not cooking for everybody, right?), I made too much food and didn’t get to the pie until almost midnight.
It’s not Thanksgiving without pie, so even when I discovered I didn’t have a rolling pin, I plowed through with a can of tomatoes and rolled out each of these pie crusts individually. I thought I’d be able to roll out a full sheet and then cut them out with a cup or bowl, but no go. Each one got handcrafted with love…and a strong desire for pie. :P
See the knife marks in the top ones below? Trying to time it based on tiny pies instead of a full one, it took me three attempts before I was satisfied that they were completely done.
I still had a full pie’s worth of crust left and tons of filling, so I rolled out strips of crust with my tomato can to fill a casserole dish. If you want help with the image of me struggling with a tomato can, picture a 4’11” me, tippy toed above the counter that is way too high for me, putting my whole body into it. I was *exhausted* by the time the pies were in the oven.
^ The first makes me think of an alien. Check out those ears! And the last one? While I was moving it off the stove to try to take a better picture, I um, dipped the oven mitt in it. Yay for a pumpkin pie nose?
Also, see that little metal thing in the upper right hand corner of the picture? That’s the inner workings of the can opener I broke earlier in the day. Cooking utensils aren’t cooperating with me too much. :(
The next morning, I had some fun drawing on the ones I hid in the back of the fridge we didn’t eat. I knew the chocolate would harden quickly, so I worked fast, but what I didn’t take into account was that it’d turn solid as soon as it hit the cold pumpkin surface.
Pumpkin pi. :)
They’re not quite as pretty after separating some in the fridge over night, but still fun. And I actually preferred the little tartlets over pie because every bite had delicious crust to filling ratio. <3
Here’s the recipes I used. I did roast and puree my own fresh pumpkin, so yours will look a different color if you use canned.
Pie Crust Recipe
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 6 to 8 Tbs. ice water
Cut butter into flour, salt, and sugar, using pastry cutter or food processor. Slowly add ice water until well mixed. Form into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2+ hours before using.
Pumpkin Pie Recipe
- 1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
- 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup instead)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (1.5 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of ginger/cinnamon works)
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten (flax seed “eggs” work fine)
- 1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted (mix powdered milk using half the water as usual as a sub)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add eggs; mix well. Add evaporated milk, water, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350° and bake about 35 minutes longer, or until center is set.
Comments
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Mary
December 13, 2011
This is a really clever idea! They sound delicious. This is my first visit to your blog, so I took some time to browse through your earlier entries. I’m so glad I did that. You’ve created a great spot for your readers to visit and I really enjoyed the time I spent here. I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Quirky Jessi
December 15, 2011
I’m glad you enjoyed it! <3
Anonymous
December 15, 2011
Love the mini-pies. But what’s wrong with a freezer full of leftovers? It just means future meals you don’t have to cook from scratch – you’ve already done it!
And a wine bottle (if you have such around) makes an excellent rolling pin.
Sandra