Pumpkin Pie Hors d'Oeurvers - November 16, 2012

Nick and I never host Thanksgiving.  We usually spend that holiday with Nick's parents, who, quite frankly, can cook the pants off of Thanksgiving dinner.  The one downside is that we rarely get to prepare any of those fun Thanksgiving foods.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I've never cooked a turkey in my life.  Luckily, this year my sister and brother in law hosted a little pre-Thanksgiving happy hour at their new home, aptly coined "Dranksgiving."  Natalie said I could bring some appetizers to share.



I decided to make single serving pumpkin pies (and bacon-wrapped Brussels sprouts, but I didn't snap a photo of those).  After searching around a bit to find the proper method, I ended up making these in muffin tins.  I used my traditional pie crust recipe, listed below, and the pumpkin pie filling recipe from my "Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book."  Aside from being very tedious, these were just like making a normal sized pumpkin pie.  I did have to keep a close eye on them while baking, because I wasn't sure how long they would take.  As you can see, the middles totally caved in, which may have been due to mis-calculating said baking time.  It was nothing, however, that a little home-made whipped cream couldn't hide.

This was a fun afternoon project, but the real fun came at Dranksgiving, our kick-off to the holiday season.  I hope Nat and Jamie make it an annual event!

Double Crust Pie Pastry

2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 Cup unsalted butter (cold)
1/3 Cup lard (cold)
6-7 Tbsp cold water

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the salt and flour.  Add butter and lard and pulse until you have pea-sized pieces.  Add one Tbsp of cold water at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough is just moistened (it should still be very crumbly).  Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and form into two equally sized balls.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes.  Roll out as needed for your pie recipe.

For more mini-pie inspiration see here, and here