Gluten-free Fairy Pumpkin Pies

On Sunday night, we had some of our oldest friends over for dinner, and we hadn't seen them since before Annabel's birthday. They were making the main course & a side to bring with, so I had to do something special for dessert!

I made these little pies with 2 fairy pumpkins from our local CSA (that were actually given to me in trade for babysitting!) and they came out SO good. These would be a great twist on traditional pumpkin pie for your Thanksgiving feast, too.

Gluten-free Fairy Pumpkin Pies

prepared pastry for 2-crust pie (my gluten-free pastry dough is here)
2 C. cooked, pureed and strained pumpkin (about 2 small fairy pumpkins)
2/3 C. brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Remove seeds and rind from pumpkin and cut into small pieces. Place in a large saucepot, add enough water to cover all pieces, and boil for 10-15 minutes until pumpkin is fork tender. Strain off water, puree pumpkin in a blender or food processor


2. Add remaining recipe ingredients in order given, stirring well between each addition. If there are any chunks of pumpkin left, strain the entire mixture. You want a smooth, liquid consistency. Set aside.
   


3. Cut pastry dough into circles to fit 12 muffin cups. For conventional pastry dough - I use an inverted bowl to trace out a nice shape with a knife, place in the tin and them trim to size if necessary. For gluten-free pastry dough, I grab about 2 Tbsp of dough and press it into each greased muffin cup. You can find my gluten-free pastry dough recipe here.
   


4. Fill each crust until nearly full with pumpkin filling, careful not to get any batter along your crust edge.
   


5. Bake fairy pies at 425˚F for 10 minutes, then turn heat down to 375˚F and bake for an additional 20-22 minutes, until knife inserted into the center of one pie comes out clean. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Top with whipped cream and Enjoy! Makes 12-18 fairy pies.