An Easy Way to Eat in Costume: Teensy Pumpkin Pies

“Tiny,” “miniature,” and “small” are probably words you’d never find in a description of ES anything (or ML anything, for that matter). Under normal circumstances, when it comes to food, I’d never recommend downsizing—growing up with an Armenian mother and grandmother meant the house was full of food all the time. Five people are coming for dinner? Better get enough for 20, you never know. Or if you’re at my parents parties…better get double, because everyone’s going to want to eat another meal after they’re drunk.

When I don’t have a big enough portion size on my plate, I get a “That’s ALL you’re eating?” from both parents, plus an intervention about anorexia (come on). However, in my opinion, there’s one exception to this huge rule. Have you ever been to a party (or more specifically, a networking/media event) where you’re given full-size portions of something, and supposed to eat them with a fork, while holding your (full-size) drink and mingling at the same time? Me too, and it drives me effing crazy, to the point where I’d rather not eat instead of not enjoy my food. Which more often than not results in a very drunk ML.

Luckily, Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park have found a solution to this problem with their new book, Tiny Food Party. To test the functionality, I’ll be holding my own Tiny Food Party later this month (recap to follow, if I’m sober enough to remember any of it). As an added bonus, Teri Lyn and Jenny have given me some tiny Halloween recipes, for a flawless (or just fun), cake-pop free Halloween. How are you supposed to eat pie with a fork in a costume, anyway?

Teensy Pumpkin Pies

Makes 24

Ingredients:

cream cheese crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (for savory recipes, use 1 1/2 times the salt)
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup  (6 ounces) cold cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 1/2 tablespoons ice water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

filling:

2 cups pumpkin puree
6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) sweetened, condensed milk
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground all-spice

garnish:

whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. For crust: Place flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into a food processor and pulse together. Add cream cheese and butter and pulse until a fine mealy texture has been formed. Add the water and vinegar and pulse until a dough forms. Form dough into a disc and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour. Roll dough onto a lightly floured surface until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut 24, 2-inch squares from the dough and form into 1 inch tart molds, trimming the edges of excess dough as needed. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. For the filling: Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir together until fully combined. Pour mixture into prepared shells and completely fill.
4. Bake mini pies for 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the pies have set in the center and the crusts are golden brown. Allow to cool for about an hour before topping each with a dollop of whipped cream and serving.

 Find more Halloween Recipes in Endless Halloween