Mini Pumpkin Cream Pies

The weather here in Cleveland is so confusing! It’s February and the temperature this week has been in the mid 50’s! Where is the snow? The bone-chilling wind? It’s so strange going outside and NOT feeling cold. I’m not complaining though! 🙂

My cravings this week have been out of whack as well. I’ve been craving fall flavors, especially pumpkin! I realize that autumn is still months away, but there is no reason why I can’t enjoy my favorite fall treats all year round, right? 🙂

The problem is, I haven’t been able to find any canned pumpkin puree at my local grocery stores. I searched high and low for weeks and I FINALLY came across a few (very overpriced) cans of Libby’s, and I immediately snatched one up!

The pumpkin barely made it home though. It’s sort of an embarssing story, but while Ahra and I were carrying our groceries back home, one of the bags ripped and the can of pumpkin rolled into the street. Ahra had to kick it across the street to save it from getting run over. The can was pretty beat up, but thankfully the pumpkin was uncontaminated! 🙂

I’ve been enjoying the pumpkin daily in my oatmeal and yogurt, and last night I made these delightful little pumpkin cream pies. The original recipe was for a regular 9-inch pie, but I decided to make individual pies in a muffin tin. Aren’t they just adorable? I love anything in miniature form! 🙂

The right thing to do would be to top these little pies with whipped cream, but unfortunately, I didn’t have any heavy cream on hand. 😦 So I garnished them with candied pecans and crushed graham crackers, which provided a wonderful crunchy texture contrast to the smooth and creamy filling.

These pies were delicious, but my pumpkin craving still isn’t satisfied! I think I’m going to have to go out and buy some more – even if it does cost me an arm and a leg! 🙂

Mini Pumpkin Cream Pies

Source: adapted from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, originally from Martha Stewart; crust recipe from Joy of Baking

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 1 cup milk (I used nonfat)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• dash of salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tablespoon butter, softened

Directions

1. Line 12 muffin cups with one 2-inch by 6-inch strip of parchment paper. (The ends will hang over the sides to be used as handles to lift out the pies).

2. To make the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a small bowl. Press a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

3. To make the filling, combine milk, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Heat over medium heat.

4. In a small bowl, beat together egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch.

5. Gradually whisk 1/4 cup of hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with remaining hot milk. Cook over medium, whisking constantly until heated through and thickened.

6. Remove from heat and immediately stir in pumpkin and butter until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve to remove any lumps.

7. Spoon mixture evenly among the 12 muffin cups, on top of the chilled graham cracker crusts. Refrigerate for several hours or over night. Use parchment paper handles to gently remove pies from muffin tins. Garnish with whipped cream, candied nuts, and/or crushed graham crackers.

Egg Custard Tarts

Happy February! I woke up today hoping that the university would be closed due to the huge winter storm that was supposed to hit, but no such luck. I consoled myself with a delicious bowl of chocolate oatmeal with peanut butter before trudging through the snow to my first class. I felt like I was eating dessert for breakfast! 🙂

You would think that after eating a chocolatey breakfast, my sweet tooth would be satisfied for the day, but no. I wanted more! I snacked on a Homemade Larabar and a Godiva Hazelnut Praline truffle, which kept my sweet tooth quiet for the afternoon. But by dinner time, I was looking for some sugar again!

Although I love sweets, I don’t like anything TOO sweet. Overly sugary treats make me want to gag, and I’d actually prefer to eat something super bland. So for dessert, I made egg custard tarts, which don’t have too much sugar, but definitely enough to make my tastebuds happy!

These egg custard tarts are just lovely with a cup of tea, especially when they’re still warm from the oven. The sweet, silky custard is to die for! Somehow I managed to stop after eating just one of these yummy tarts, but I’m starting to crave another one. I better brush my teeth and go to bed before I give in! 🙂

Egg Custard Tarts

Source: adapted from Baking Bites

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled
• 1 large egg

For the filling:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. To make the crust, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor, and pulse to combine. Pulse in butter until mixture is crumbly, then blend in egg until dough comes together. The mixture should look like wet sand, and may still be crumbly.

3. Pour mixture into a Ziploc bag and press into a ball. Seal bag and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

4. To make the filling, whisk together sugar and egg yolks by hand until sugar is dissolved. Avoid making the mixture light or foamy. Whisk in milk, then strain mixture into a measuring cup (or other container that is easy to pour from).

5. Divide slightly chilled dough into 10 equal portions. Press each piece of dough evenly on the bottom and about 2/3 – 3/4 of the way up the sides of a muffin cup to form small tart shells. Flatten tops of crusts gently with your fingers to prevent filling from running out.

6. Pour filling into tart shells, filling them to the top, but not overfilling. Discard leftover filling. Bake tarts for about 20-25 minutes, until filling is set, but still slightly jiggly when in center when pan is shifted.

7. Cool tarts in pan for about 30 minutes, then gently lift out tarts using a butter knife. Place tarts on wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Banana Cream Pie

I have the most awesome schedule this semester. Except for one pesky class that lasts from 5:00 to 7:30 pm on Wednesdays nights, I pretty much love my schedule. I have no class AND no work on Fridays, which means that every weekend is a 3-day weekend! This coming Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, so I have a 4-day weekend!! 🙂

Even though I had nowhere in particular to be this morning, I still got up around 8 am. I don’t think sleeping in is really my thing… I just can’t bear the thought of missing breakfast! 🙂 I made myself a bowl of oatmeal with roasted Korean sweet potato again and enjoyed it while sipping on a mug of mango black tea and catching up with my favorite blogs. Such a lovely way to start off the morning!

I know I should really use my extra time on Fridays to do something productive like work on my senior capstone project or get a head start on reading for my classes, but I decided to just take it easy today and spend my time blogging about my favorite banana cream pie… in bed! 🙂

Although I’m not a fan of eating ripe bananas, this pie is an exception. The creamy custard and buttery graham cracker crust are pretty irresistible! Banana cream pie is one of those desserts that never lasts long around our suite – every last crumb was devoured 40 minutes after I took it out of the refrigerator last night! I was looking forward to having a slice today, but I guess I should have known the pie would be long gone.

Time to do some more baking! 🙂

Banana Cream Pie

Source: adapted from Food.com

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 heaping cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups cold milk
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 bananas, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a small bowl. Toss with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened and all the ingredients are evenly mixed.

3. Press graham cracker mixture firmly on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Pour in milk and whisk to dissolve. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbling.

4. Pour about 1/4 of the hot mixture into the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly. Return egg mixture to saucepan and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until filling is thick and bubbling again.

5. Remove mixture from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.

6. Pour 1/2 of filling into baked pie shell. Layer 2 of the sliced bananas on top of the filling, then pour the remaining mixture on top of the bananas.

7. Allow filling to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Just before serving, top the pie with the third sliced banana.

Pumpkin Pie

I love 3-day weeks. Not only do they go by super fast, but after the short week is over, you get a long 4-day weekend! I’m going in to work for a couple of hours this afternoon, but after that, I’m freeeee! (Well, for a few days anyway. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I get slammed with papers and final exams). And then I’ll be on my way to Chicago by this evening! Yay! Whoa, that was a lot of exclamation points in one paragraph. Can you tell I’m excited? 🙂

If you read my last post, you know that making pies is not my forte. I avoid making them, if at all possible.  But I have to make at least ONE legit pie since it’s Thanksgiving, right? I decided to go with pumpkin pie since Ahra’s been bugging me to make it forever. I’ve been using the same recipe for the past couple of years, and it’s really great. Honestly, though, pumpkin pie is a little…boring. Even though it’s delicious, there aren’t any other textures or flavors to keep it interesting.

What could I do to spice up a pumpkin pie? I thought about using a graham cracker crust, or topping the pie with a pecan streusel. While I was poring over my favorite baking blogs for inspiration, I came across pictures of one of the most beautiful pumpkin pies I’ve ever laid eyes on. Seriously, it was gorgeous. Plus, it was exactly what I was looking for – classic pumpkin pie with a twist.

This recipe calls for candied yams and maple syrup to  amplify the pumpkin’s natural flavor, and it also uses fresh ginger instead of dried. Also, it is a little  involved and time-consuming than your average pumpkin pie recipe. It requires you to cook some of the filling ingredients together to concentrate the flavors and reduce the moisture.  Straining the filling through a sieve ensures a silky smooth texture.

Now, I rarely say anything I make is the best, but this was hands down the BEST pumpkin pie I have ever tasted. Seriously, it was incredible. The pumpkin pie flavor was amazing, and the texture was beautifully smooth and creamy. For once, I was able to focus on something other than the ugly crust because the pie itself was so superb. I thought the pie might be enough dessert for two nights, but the boyfriend, my three suitemates, and I ate the whole thing in one night. I think it speaks for itself 🙂

If you’re still deciding on a dessert for Thanksgiving day, I highly, highly, HIGHLY, recommend this one!

Pumpkin Pie

Source: adapted from Brown Eyed Baker, originally from Cook’s Illustrated

Ingredients

• 1 recipe for single pie crust
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk (I used nonfat)
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup drained candied yams (from 15-oz. can)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

3. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of pie plate. Fold overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. using thumb and forefinger, flute edge of dough. Use a fork to prick the dough all over the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Refrigerate dough-lined plate until firm, about 15 minutes.

3. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of pie plate. Fold overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Using thumb and forefinger, flute edge of dough. Use a fork to prick the dough all over the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Refrigerate dough-lined plate until firm, about 15 minutes.

4. Remove pie pan from refrigerator, line crust with foil, and fill with pie weights or dried beans (I used rice), filling the whole way up to the rim of the pie plate. Bake on rimmed baking sheet 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and bake 5 to 15 additional minutes until crust is golden brown and crisp. Remove pie plate and baking sheet from oven.

5. While the pie shell is baking, whisk cream, milk, eggs, yolks and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Combine the pumpkin, yams, sugar, maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan; bring to a sputtering simmer over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue to simmer pumpkin mixture, stirring constantly and mashing yams against sides of pot, until thick and shiny, 10 t0 15 minutes.

6. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the cream mixture until fully incorporated. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl, using the back of a ladle or spatula to press solids through strainer. Rewhisk mixture and transfer to warm prebaked pie shell. Return pie plate with baking sheet to oven and bake pie for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking until edges of pie are set and the center looks firm but jiggles slightly (instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 175 degrees), 20 to 35 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool to room temperature, 2 to 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

My suitemate Ahra shares my love for sweet things and desserts of all kinds. Unlike our other two suitemates, we loveeee chocolate, suffer from intense cravings for sweets late at night, agree that milkshakes make a great dinner, become overly excited in the ice cream aisle at the grocery store, and devour all of the things I bake.

Ahra definitely enjoys my baking the most, and of course I appreciate all of her enthusiastic feedback. She really likes sweet potato pie and recently mentioned that she wanted to eat pecan bars, so when I came across a recipe for Sweet Potato Pecan Pie, I knew she would love it. This dessert combines two wonderful pies into one, and it’s great for indecisive people like me who can never decide what to bake!

I had to make some significant substitutions in this recipe, but the end result was still delish. I’m sure it would have been even BETTER if i’d had all the right ingredients, though. We all really liked this pie, except for Deborah who hates sweet potato (she just ate the crust and pecan pie layer). We ate half of it last night, and polished off the rest today for lunch!

Again, my pictures make this pie look really unappetizing, but let me tell you, it is really, REALLY good 🙂

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

Source: adapted from Closet Cooking

Ingredients

For the sweet potato filling:

• 1 9-inch pie crust (I used this recipe from Joy of Baking)
• 2 cups roasted, mashed sweet potato
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (I used honey)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I omitted this because I didn’t have any, and added about 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves)
• 2 tablespoons bourbon (Again, didn’t have any, so used Kahlua instead)

For the pecan filling:

• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (I used light corn syrup)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon bourbon (I used Kahlua)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.

2. To make the sweet potato filling, in a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and bourbon in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and spread evenly.

3. Arrange the pecan halves on top of the sweet potato filling.

4. To make the pecan filling, in a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, butter, vanilla, and bourbon. Pour mixture on top of pecans.

5. Bake in preheated oven for about 40-50 minutes, until pastry is golden brown and pecan layer is set.