Mini Pumpkin Filo Pies

A while back we talked about spectacular failures. That feeling you get when you realize your house smells like a broken fire extinguisher factory. The moment when you look at the garbage can and think, "no one has to know I even attempted this". Websites like Pinterest and Brit & Co give us access to anything. We convince ourselves that we can turn large men's shirts into cute little dresses. We live in this crafty delusion where if we can just get our hands on 59878 buttons we could make a really, really awesome lamp.

And I fall for it every time.
As Thanksgiving approaches, and I'm preparing for my first Thanksgiving as a host (which is probably a drink and a writing session for another time) I'm pinning and thinking about pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg non-stop. I have this idea that I can keep a pot of oranges, cloves and cinnamon sticks burning on the stove at all times to keep the house smelling like A.C. Moore. Do you know how much cloves cost?? Do I look like someone who can just go around buying cinnamon sticks willy nilly?

So for a pre-Thanksgiving friends dinner I tasked myself with making pies, but I had no idea how many people would be there or what they'd like to eat. I knew vegetarians would be there, and I have about as much in common with them food-wise as polar bears. Do polar bears like pumpkin pie? Is a pumpkin living? What's the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan? I'm out of touch, but all I wanted to do was keep the masses happy with the appropriate holiday dessert.

I ended up finding a recipe for awesome mini-pumpkin pies, and I was also going to go with my old standby, the mini apple pies that I knew I could handle. This is the recipe for the mini pumpkin pies: http://www.food.com/recipe/light-and-spicy-pumpkin-pie-tarts-117531. If you can find the frozen mini pie shells, which I couldn't in about 6 different stores, they would make for an awesome Thanksgiving dessert. I, on the other hand, searched high and low for those pie shells, couldn't find them anywhere, and then stupidly celebrated when I found graham cracker mini pie shells a few days later. They are not the same, and they will burn at a stupid fast rate. I'm repeating the word stupid here on purpose, because during this time of my life my brain was not doing it enough.

Okay, so now the house smells like I just lit a bunch of cat-hair candles, and I'm out the money for all the ingredients and..I have no pies! At this point I was hunched over the counter trying to scheme up a way to fix these things. Do I save the pie tins and make my own dough? Time was seriously a'wastin. And then, out of nowhere, spouse appeared to calm me down. That old "Don't Cry Over Burnt Mini Pumpkin Pies" expression totally rang true, and just as soon as he walked in the kitchen he was handing me his credit card and sending me out the door to go back to the grocery store to buy more pumpkin. The man is a fairy godmother when it comes to baking fails, I can tell you that much.

When I returned, we opted for an easier mini pumpkin pie in a filo shell to save me from having another anxiety attack. These are no-bake (!!), look amazing, and conveniently filled the 45 frozen filo shells I had purchased days before because I was reeling from not finding mini frozen pie shells. If you have picky eaters at your Thanksgiving table, or people who waiver between pro and anti pumpkin, these could turn the tide.

Mini Pumpkin Filo Pies
Courtesy of: Spoonful
http://spoonful.com/recipes/mini-pumpkin-tarts

Ingredients
-3 packages of frozen pastry filo shells (there should be about 15 to a box)
-1 can of pumpkin (15 ounce)
-2 cups whipped cream
-1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
-1 package of cheesecake flavor instant pudding mix (3.4 ounce)

Directions
1. Let the shells thaw for about 15 minutes.

2. Combine the pumpkin, whipped cream and pumpkin until smooth. Add the pudding mix and blend until the batter is smooth and thick.

3. Pipe or spoon the batter into the filo shells and you're done. Seriously. Keep cold and serve with some whipped cream, and you'll be the Julia Child genius of your Thanksgiving.

With all due respect, I took these pictures after a few Holiday libations,
so obviously they are off center, blurry and just generally ugly looking.
But they tasted great and looked amazing in real life!

These are super duper easy, and go well with spiced whipped cream. Don't know how many spices you need? Funny you should ask:

Spiced Whipped Cream
-1 eight ounce tub of whipped cream
-2 tablespoons of sugar
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ginger

Re-whip with an electric mixer and serve your friends this fancy upcycle delicacy.

I suppose the moral of the story is, don't settle for the wrong pie crusts. Have a Happy Thanksgiving readers, we'll see you on the other side of our first hosted Thanksgiving!


Source: Spoonful
Link: http://spoonful.com/recipes/mini-pumpkin-tarts


  

Posted in: Apple Pie,Apples,Fail,Filling,Filo,Fruit,Holiday,Pie,Pumpkin,Ruined,Spice,Thanksgiving,Upcycle,Whipped Creme