Plan Ahead for Thanksgiving……

Wow, this week went fast! I have a full weekend ahead of me with a mini trip, and making my two youngest full size tie blankets, so I wanted to squeeze in a little treat for you before I go. 🙂 I know, I’m probably jumping the gun with this recipe, but not only am I a foodie, I am a planner. My lists have lists and the inside of my cabinets look like a sticky note factory exploded! I actually get seriously anxious when I think about doing things on the spur of the moment, my minutes and hours are planned from the time I wake up, until the time I lay down at night. I know that doesn’t sound like very much fun, but I’m getting better. For example, this weekend, I have no idea if it is one day or overnight, and I won’t know until this afternoon so I literally can’t plan anything other than I’m going. 😉

Along with being a foodie, and a planner, I think that I may need to check myself into a 12 step program for miniature foods. It was never my plan, or my signature, but I am finding that just about everything I make is either single serving, or miniature. I don’t know if it is because they are cute, because they are easy to control, or easier to serve, but if nothing else they are just as easy to make as a full size recipe, and in this case you don’t even need a fork! I give to you, Pumpkin Tarts, essentially mini pumpkin pies. They are so cute, and just about 2 bites worth! I actually found them easier to make then a full size pie, but maybe that is just me. 🙂

Up to this point I have posted all of my own original recipes, and the filling for these little guys isn’t any different because it is all mine, but the crust, I can’t take credit for. When I was a kid my mom use to make a pie crust similar to this, but all the ingredients were put in a Tupperware bowl with a lid and the idea was to shake it until it turned into a ball and you didn’t have to dirty your hands or any utensils. I was always the lucky one, I use lucky loosely, who got to shake the bowl. It was a never fail crust that worked perfectly every time. Come to find out, now that crust is called the 3-2-1 Crust, I’ve made it twice over the last week and it turned out amazing both times. This is the ONLY recipe that I have EVER had success with, so why mess with a good thing? The only thing I changed, instead of sugar I used Truvia, and instead of regular butter, I used light butter. And I just used my hands to mix everything; it is quicker, and just easier. Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem like the crust is coming together right away, it will.

While the tart shells are cooking you can easily combine all of the ingredients for the filling. These little filled pastry shells will brown to perfection in 8-10 minutes, and if you set them on a cooling rack they will be cool enough to serve in 20-30 minutes. And when you serve them make sure that you add the last little finishing touch…. you can’t have any type of pumpkin dessert, whether it is pie or a tart, without the whipped cream! 😉

Pumpkin Tarts

By Angie Gouchenour

Serves 24 (Only fills 20 shells so I will give you a bonus for the other 4)

Ingredients

3-2-1 Pie Crust (I used Light butter and Truvia)

1 ½ cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

¼ cup of Homemade Evaporated Milk (Or canned)

4 Tablespoons of egg whites

2 Tablespoons of Truvia zero calorie sweetener

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 400’f

Make pie crust according to directions. Make sure you chill it for 30 minutes (I got the best results after chilling it for 2 hours)

Roll out dough just like you would for a pie on a lightly floured surface, and using a 3 inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass cut out your tarts and place in regular muffin tins. You will have to re-roll your dough several times.

Bake your crusts on 400 for 15 minutes (Sometimes they puff in the center, sometimes they don’t. If you are worried you can weigh them down with beans)

While the crusts are cooking combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg whites, Truvia, cinnamon, and nutmeg (It will be thick. Not runny like traditional pumpkin pie)

Reduce the oven temperature to 350’ f

Fill the tart shells with 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin mix each. Make sure that you spread the mixture out so it touches all sides of the tart shell.

Bake filled tarts another 8-10 minutes until brown

Remove from the oven and place on cooling rack

BONUS

Apple Tart

For the other 4 tart shells I made apple tarts. Chop up 1/3 of an apple fairly small add 1 ½ teaspoon of Truvia and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Put 1 Tablespooon of apple filling into each tart shell and cook them right along with the pumpkin tarts.

45 Calories per tart