Mini pumpkin pies (vegan friendly)

I didn’t end up being able to make pumpkin pie in time for Canadian Thanksgiving back in October so I figured that I would make up for it by making it for American Thanksgiving instead!

See, that’s the benefit of having a neighboring country that celebrates such a delicious holiday a month after your own.

It means you get to celebrate it twice!

Anyways, the reason as to why I didn’t make it for our Thanksgiving dinner was because originally lil’ bun didn’t want to have any pumpkin pie so I didn’t consider making any.

But then, when Halloween hit, she finally decided to develop pumpkin spice fever and now here we are…making up for it late November!

I really can’t understand why it took her so long to join the pumpkin pie bandwagon because…who could resist such a thing?

I mean, a warm cozy pumpkin filling inside a buttery flaky crust? Sign me up!

Anyway, these mini pumpkin pies are a great way to enjoy pumpkin pie without making the full pie! It takes half the baking time but has all the flavour!

Mini pumpkin pies recipe

Ingredients (makes 6)

Crust:

1/3 cup butter (or margarine or coconut oil)
3/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg (or 1 tablespoon cornstarch/flax meal+ 3 tablespoons water)
1/4 cup milk of choice
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Make the crust by combining the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and cut it into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or fork.
2. Add in the cold water and stir until a dough comes together. If you’re having a hard time with this, either get messy and use your hands or put everything in a food processor and pulse until it comes together.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least one hour.
4. While the dough is firming up, make the filling by combining the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, brown sugar, milk, egg, pumpkin spice, salt and vanilla in a medium bowl. Mix everything together until smooth
5. When the dough is chilled, roll it into a log and cut it into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 1/2cm thick circle with a rolling pin. Press the circles into greased muffin tins to form a crust.
6. Divide and pour the filling into each muffin tin
7. Bake at 350F for 30 – 45 minutes the crust is golden brown