Thanksgiving is around the corner and if you’re anything like me, you’re having some mixed feelings. The holiday has always been one I look forward to not just for the delicious food, but because it’s so much fun to celebrate with family and friends. Knowing our Thanksgiving celebration will look different this year has made me a little uneasy, but I’m holding fast to traditions that will make the day resemble something close to “normal.” For me, that means making our Herbed Butternut Squash Wellington and pumpkin pie, which my mom is always in charge of. These Mini Vegan Pumpkin Pies with Frosted Cranberries are perfect for a small Thanksgiving celebration!
Rather than making a big pumpkin pie and dealing with serving utensils, I wanted to make individual vegan pumpkin pies that my guests could dig into worry-free. These adorable mini pie dishes are just the right size for individual servings. I picked a set of four at my local Home Goods but I suspect you could find them at nearly any store that sells bakeware.
The vegan pumpkin pie filling is made with chickpeas, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and the typical warm spices you’d expect to find in a pumpkin pie recipe. Don’t skip the cornstarch or arrowroot powder; these ingredients thicken the pumpkin pie filling and help it firm up.
While optional, making little leaves with leftover pie dough is such a fun way to decorate these mini vegan pumpkin pies. Search for “fall pie punches” or “leaf pie crust cutters” to find ones like I used. At the time of writing, Williams Sonoma and World Market have similar products.
Finally, frosted cranberries take these mini vegan pumpkin pies over the top. The sweet and sour flavor combination is simply divine – I could eat a whole bowl of them! If you make these mini vegan pumpkin pies the night before and the cranberries look a bit less frosted by the next day, just give them another shake in a bowl of sugar before topping and serving.
Mini Vegan Pumpkin Pies with Frosted Cranberries
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Mini Vegan Pumpkin Pies with Frosted Cranberries are a delicious and beautiful way to serve Thanksgiving dessert as individual portions.
Ingredients
For the frosted cranberries:
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
For the mini vegan pumpkin pies:
- Coconut oil cooking spray
- 2 vegan pie crusts
- 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
Instructions
- To make the frosted cranberries, combine ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. Turn the heat to low and whisk to dissolve the sugar in the water. Remove the saucepan from heat and add the cranberries. Stir to coat the cranberries in the sugar water.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and set a wire cooling rack on top. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cranberries to the cooling rack and allow them to dry for at least 30 minutes.
- Pour the remaining tablespoon of sugar in a small bowl. When the cranberries are dry, yet sticky, place them in the bowl and toss with the sugar until all of the cranberries are coated. Set the frosted cranberries aside.
- Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Wipe the silicone baking mat clean or replace the piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet. Mist the mat or parchment paper with coconut oil cooking spray.
- Gently roll out the pie crusts. Place your mini pie dishes upside down on the pie crusts and use a butter knife or pastry wheel to trace a circle ever so slightly larger than each pie dish. Pull away the extra pie dough and set the scraps aside.
- Flip the mini pie dishes right side up and press the pie crust circles into each, covering the bottoms and sides. Prick the bottom of each crust with a fork.
- Roll the leftover pie crust dough into a ball and use a rolling pin to flatten it to a bit thinner than ¼ inch. Use leaf shaped pie crust cutters to make a series of shapes for topping the pies. Make a few more than you think you’ll need in case some leaves get too crispy in the oven.
- Arrange the leaf shapes on the prepared baking sheet and mist with more coconut oil cooking spray. Sprinkle the pie crust leaves with a teaspoon of sugar. Place the prepared mini pie dishes on another baking sheet. Bake the pie crusts and pie crust leaves for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool the leaves on a wire rack and set the pie crusts aside to cool slightly while you prepare the vegan pumpkin pie filling.
- Combine the chickpeas, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cornstarch or arrowroot powder, coconut sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cloves in the bowl of your food processor. Blend until completely smooth and adjust the sweetness to taste.
- Divide the pumpkin pie filling between the pre-baked mini pie crusts and smooth out the tops with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pies have firmed up slightly and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a pie comes out clean.
- Cool the pies at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the fridge to cool for 2 to 3 hours.
- Before serving, decorate the mini vegan pumpkin pies with frosted cranberries and pie crust leaves. Cover and refrigerate the pies until ready to serve.
Keywords: vegan holiday dessert, holiday dessert, vegan pumpkin pie
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