Next week is Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays when it comes to celebrating the family and friends I love over delicious food, great conversation and fabulous autumn decor! This year I am debating what I'll be contributing to my family's Thanksgiving dinner. Desserts always seem to be a family favorite so I thought I would share some recipes I can't wait to try. Enjoy!

Mini Pumpkin Pies - Yummy Mummy Kitchen

Yield: 24 mini pumpkin pies

Ingredients:

2 batches (10-inch) prepared pie dough (homemade or store bought)
1 (15-oz.) can canned solid-pack pumpkin (about 2 cups)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly whipped cream for serving

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Use a round or scalloped cookie cutter that is large enough to cover the bottom and sides of pan wells, a 3 to 3 1/2 inch cutter should be perfect for a regular sized muffin pan. Use a smaller cutter if using a mini muffin tin. Cut out 12 circles and press into a nonstick muffin or tartlet pan, or 24 smaller circles if using a mini muffin tin. I use this pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, cream, milk, eggs, sugar, spices, and salt.
Carefully fill the dough all the way to the top. Pies will slightly puff up but will sink down again once they have cooled.
Bake pies until crust is golden brown and pies are set and puffed. My tartlets took about 30 minutes. Pies made in a mini muffin tin will take about 12 minutes and thicker pies made in a regular muffin tin could take 45 minutes. Cool, carefully remove from pans, and store covered in the refrigerator.
Pipe or dollop whipped cream on top and serve!

Mini Pear Pies with Blue Cheese - Share My Kitchen

Ingredients for the pies:

3 medium sized, firm pears
Half lemon, juice only
200g ready made puff pastry
Thawed 2-3 tbsp milk

Ingredients for the filling:

150-200g Fontina (finely grained) - if you can't find Fontina, substitute for any semi-soft, rich and buttery cheese
80-100g blue cheese
1 tbsp brandy
50g walnuts, crushed

Instructions:

Peel the pears, cut them in half and remove the seeds (leaving the stems)
Scrape the interior using a teaspoon in order to form a wider notch to fill in later and save the carved pulp
Brush the pears with lemon juice from inside and outside
Line a baking pan with parchment paper and arrange the pear halves, cavities facing down
Cut 6 rectangles just a bit larger from the pears, from the well thawed puff pastry
Cover every pear with a piece of pastry and using a sharp knife cut the excess, leaving a well covered fruit; pierce small gashes with a sharp knife and brush with milk
From the puff pastry trimmings, cut leaves and "clue" them with milk
Bake in preheated oven (400 degrees F) for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown
While the pies are baking, prep the filling - mix the finely grated cheeses with the brandy and the pureed pear pulp. Add half of the walnuts and stir until well combined, leave aside.
Take out of oven and let them cool in the pan for several minutes
When pies are slightly cooled, remove from the baking pan (you may need to use tongs) and arrange of large serving dish. Fill the cavity with the filling, sprinkle with the rest of the walnuts and serve

Salted Caramel Apple Mini Pies - Pretty Plain Janes

Yield: 10 mini pies

Ingredients for The Dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup cold sour cream
(As I mentioned in the post, if you are looking to save time, you can use two boxes of Pillsbury Pie Crust in place of your own)

Ingredients for the filling:

2 cups small diced (peeled) Granny Smith apples (I mixed in a few Honeycrisp! Chop very small, due to the 15 minute cook time they need to be small to become tender)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 bag soft caramels, chopped
Coarse sea salt
Egg wash (1 egg lightly whisked with 1 Tablespoon water)
Crystal sanding sugar (optional)

Directions:

Pie crust dough:
Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter to the bowl and use your fingers or a fork to work the butter into the flour until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand.
Stir in the sour cream (the dough will be very wet), and then turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface.
Knead the dough a few times until it comes together, adding more flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough is too sticky to handle. Roll the dough into an 8x10-inch rectangle and dust both sides with flour before folding it into thirds as if you were folding a letter.
Rotate the dough 90º and roll it out again into an 8x10-inch rectangle. Fold the dough again into thirds then wrap it securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes while you make the filling.
For the filling:
Combine the chopped & peeled apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar, & flour. Fold to coat apples in mixture and set aside.
To assemble:
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unfold it onto a well-floured surface, rolling it out to a 14x14-inch square. Using a 3-inch circular cookie cutter or a mini pie mold, cut out as many circles as possible (or whatever your shape is.) Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting out circles until you run out of dough, ensuring you end up with an even number of circles. (You should have approximately 20 3-inch circles.)
Placing the bottom half of dough into the mold, scoop a large spoonful of apple mixture into the center. Top the apple filling with a portion of the chopped caramels and a pinch of sea salt. Place a second dough piece on top of each filled portion, then press mold to adhere seams. (If you are not using a mold, simply use a fork around the edges to make a seam.)
Brush each pie with the egg wash, and using a sharp knife, cut two or three vents on the top of each pie if your mold does not already have an air vent. Sprinkle the pies with crystal sanding sugar (optional).
Bake the pies for about 15 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove the pies from the oven and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Mini Pies in a Cupcake Tin - Tablespoon!

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

2 (2-count) packages Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
4 cups (or 2 21-ounce cans) pie filling (cherry, blueberry, apple, peach, etc.)
1 egg, whisked

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
Roll out a single pie crust on a flat surface. Use a large cookie cutter or any sort of circular lid to cut out a 4-inch circle of dough. Press each dough circle into the bottom of a muffin tin so that a tiny rim of dough remains sticking out the top. Repeat with remaining dough to fill all 12 muffin cups.
Fill each cup with about 1/4 cup pie filling, or until the filling nearly fills the cups.
Use the remaining dough to cover the tops of each pie. To make a lattice crust, use a knife or pizza cutter to cut out thin strips of dough, then lace together to form a lattice. To make a standard crust, cut out a circle of dough just large enough to cover the top of the crust. Use your fingers to gently press the top crust to the bottom crust until they stick together and no gaps remain.
Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of each pie with the whisked egg. Then bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden and the filling begins to bubble.
Remove and let cool for at least 15 minutes. Then very carefully use a knife to loosen the edges of each pie and gently lift each pie out. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

*Important How-To: Pie Crust Decoration

Lattice-Topped Pie // Williams-Sonoma

Basic Pie Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3 Tbs. very cold water

Directions:

To make the dough by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together.
To make the dough in a stand mixer, fit the mixer with the flat beater, and stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix on low speed just until the dough pulls together.
Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. (Although many dough recipes call for chilling the dough at this point, this dough should be rolled out immediately for the best results.) Lightly flour the work surface, then flatten the disk with 6 to 8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out into a round at least 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Makes enough dough for one 9-inch single-crust pie or one 10-inch galette.

Lattice pie How To:

Cut the dough strips

Roll out the dough into a rectangle that is 2 inches longer than the diameter of your pie pan and 1/8-inch thick. Using a pizza wheel or paring knife, trim the edges and cut the rectangle into 10 equal strips.

Lay a row of the strips on the filling

Starting 1 inch from the edge of the pie pan, lay 4 to 6 strips about 1 inch apart over the filling. Use a thin metal spatula to pick up the dough strips gently if they stick to the work surface.

Fold back alternating strips

Fold back every other dough strip halfway over itself. Place a strip at a sharp angle across the unfolded strips, then return the folded strips to their flat position.

Weave the dough

Fold back the remaining 3 strips, place a dough strip about 1 inch away from the first one, and return the folded strips to their flat position. Repeat to complete the lattice.

Lattice and Leaf Pie Crust - V and Co

Ingredients:

1 deep dish frozen pie crust
1 package of unrolled pie crust (you will use one)
1 mason jar of apple pie filling
Pizza cutter
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of sugar

Directions:

Pour one mason jar full of apple pie into the crust
Unroll one pie crust; with the pizza cutter, make strips from the pie crust. Leave a little aside for the leaves
Start by placing strips of the dough across the top of the pie
Cut off the excess and add it to the extra you placed aside
Start interweaving the strips of the dough the other way (to make a lattice of the crust)
Continue to interweave the dough strips. Press down the ends when you get all the lattice done
Roll the extra dough, with a knife cut out leaf shapes and draw lightly on the leaf (not going all the way through)
Pull back the extra dough from your cut out leaves
Place the leaves on top of the lattice you just created
Get your milk and sugar and using a pastry brush, brush some milk on top of the leaves and lattice
After you have brushed milk all over the top of the crust, sprinkle sugar on top of the crust

Prep to cook:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
Fold a square piece of foil paper into 4 and cut the foil to create a circle
Place the foil on top of the pie
Cook for 30 minutes, remove the tin foil and continue to cook for 30 more minutes

Thanksgiving: Pies

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