Bites as Sweet as Pumpkin Pie

Nothing says fall like pie. This time of year I simply cannot wait until I have a few hours to set aside and make that buttery delicious dough with fresh hot filling bubbling through the cracks in the crust. I love the ceremony of making pie, the cutting of the flour and butter, the dusting of flour on wood before rolling out the dough, creating a filling and tasting it until it is just right. The decision of lattice, versus full top, verses crumb top…crimping the dough together. The ritual of making a pie reminds me so much of my mom.

Standing on a wooden stool with my tiny little rolling pin, pilfered from the ravioli tray kit, watching her hands deftly roll, cut and crimp. Flour covering the tiny apron she made me that matched hers. She makes the best pies…ever. I never make one without thinking about her; it’s a small tribute every time I take a pie out of the oven, hot and almost as perfect as hers. Her pumpkin pie is the best of the pies she makes. We all talk about it; in more and more detail the closer we get to this time of year, building our anticipation with every delicious memory we share. Then comes the call, or nowadays the text. Call me tonight I will be up late making pumpkin pies. Now that we are all older and wiser we don’t mess around. Those pies come out of the oven late the night before and sit to cool until we awake on Thanksgiving morning, then we pour a cup of coffee and sit down to, unhurriedly, delicious morsel by delicious morsel, devour it.

We do this unabashedly without a thought or a concern for the big meal we will eat later, this is what we have all been waiting for all year.

Now pie takes time, so I have been thinking, how could we have the joy of pie in a pinch? Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Bites as Sweet as Pumpkin Pie. Now this recipe could be made even quicker and simpler if you went the way of the store bought crust. But besides the resting time in the fridge, pie dough is so easy and you almost always have the ingredients at the ready, so my humble advice is, “do it”.  The extra time makes a big difference.

You will need:

For crust

• 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1 Stick butter
• 2-4 tablespoons ice water
• 1 Egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon cream for egg wash- optional

Pumpkin Topping

• 1 Block of cream cheese
• 1 Can of pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• Nutmeg for garnish

How to

1. Combine the flour, sugar, salt.
2. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork.
3. Do this until the consistency of the butter and flour is about pea shaped.
4. Slowly add water one tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together.
5. Place dough in plastic wrap.
6. Smash into a disk shape and refrigerate for 1 hour.
7. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Remove pastry disk from the fridge.
9. Roll out on a floured flat surface to ¼ inch thick.
10. Cut into small shapes, I used a ravioli cutter for mine.
11. Mix egg yolk and cream and brush on pastry bites if desired.
12. Bake for 10-15 minutes watching carefully until pastry is golden brown.
13. Remove from oven and let cool.
14. While pastry bites are cooling whip cream cheese, sugar and spices until smooth
15. Slowly add pumpkin puree being careful that the mixture doesn’t become too soft. ~ This will depend on how wet your pumpkin puree is so I recommend adding ¼ of a cup and then tablespoon by tablespoon to be safe, you can always add more cream cheese if it becomes too wet.
16. Place pumpkin topping in a zip lock bag and cut off the corner creating a makeshift pastry bag.
17. Pipe pumpkin topping onto your pasty bites.
18. Dust lightly with nutmeg and serve.

Savor,
Marcella

Marcella Rose began cooking early, learning from her self-taught mom who prepared brilliant meals nightly. At thirteen, cooking on a Ranch, she learned how to get creative in the kitchen. With an eye for the beautiful, a growing palate, and keen organizing skills she soon began hosting parties and catering events. Moving to New York she was graced to have worked with some of the best interior designers in the city. Taking these skills to the Internet with Marcella Rose’s she shares her passion and innovation hoping to inspire the modern woman.

www.marcellaroses.com

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Erin Kennedy

Erin Kennedy and I’m the Founder and Creative Director. I love food, cooking and learning tips in the kitchen and of course, eating. Sharing all this food love is a passion of mine.

Latest posts by Erin Kennedy (see all)

• Enjoy the Many Rewards of a Culinary Career - July 6, 2022
• How to Tell When It’s Time to Look for a New Dining Chair Set - March 24, 2022
• Creativity In the Kitchen - December 13, 2021
• Strawberry Whipped Cream Mocktail - June 29, 2020