Pumpkin Cream Cheese Tarts

It’s pumpkin time of year. Even if you have absolutely nothing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, you can at least be thankful for pumpkin desserts.

Don’t confuse this tart with the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin, which happens to be noteworthy in its own right. And although somewhat similar, this isn’t exactly like the Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake with Bourbon-Caramel Sauce, either. (Yeah, it’s not really like that dessert at all, but I just wanted to remind you of it because it’s hauntingly good.)

So the tarts… let’s focus. Yes, the tarts. Other than the whole pastry thing (always a pain in the ass, let’s be honest), these are pretty wonderfully easy to put together- you’re basically making a bit of pumpkin pie filling, and a bit of cream cheese with sugar, and marrying the two glorious concoctions together. In a pastry shell, with whipped cream on top for good measure. With so many swoon-worthy ingredients, who couldn’t love this dessert? You might serve it this Thanksgiving instead of the classic Pumpkin Pie. (Or at the very least, in addition to the p-pie. Because as you know, when it comes to dessert, more is better.)

Adapted from my Pumpkin Pie and Cream Cheese Pie Crust recipes…

CREAM CHEESE PIE CRUST:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cold & cubed

4 ounces cream cheese (half of package), cold & cubed

2 teaspoons ice water

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

PUMPKIN FILLING:

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground)

1 egg

7.5 oz. pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)- 1/2 of a 15 oz. can

6 oz. evaporated milk (1/2 of a 12 fl. oz. can)

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

4 oz. cream cheese (half of a package), room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

WHIPPING CREAM TOPPING:

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. CRUST: follow steps in this Cream Cheese Pastry link and cut out circles of dough that will fit into 12 muffin tins (I used a coffee cup for the perfect circumference). Line muffin tins with dough rounds, gently folding into place. Stab bottoms and sides with a fork. Pre-bake the crusts a bit: bake for about 5 minutes, remove from oven and stab any puffy air pockets with a fork, and return to oven for 3 more minutes. Remove from oven. (You will have extra pastry dough- just freeze and use in the future, FYI.)
3. PUMPKIN PIE FILLING: In a small bowl, mix brown & white sugars, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves and nutmeg; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs and then stir in pumpkin, sugar & spice mixture, and evaporated milk. Pour into pie shells until no more than 2/3 full. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until centers of filling are just barely jiggly. Cool on a wire rack to set. (You might have extra filling- just bake in a ramekin and eat like a baked pudding.)
4. CREAM CHEESE FILLING: In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, lemon zest (if using), and confectioners’ sugar and mix well until blended and smooth. Scoop about a tablespoon onto tops of cooled pumpkin-filled shells, or pipe onto tarts for a cleaner look.
5. WHIPPED CREAM: In a medium bowl, beat whipped cream with confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form. Spoon (or pipe) onto tops of tarts- covering any messy-looking cream cheese blobs.
Tips:
- Pre-baking the crust- argh?! I’m sorry. But sometimes pumpkin pies have an under-baked crust thing going on, which I know you don’t want. By all means- skip the step- but know that the bottoms of your tarts might be a bit sog-a-licious.
- Crusts looking a little overdone while baking? Cover with foil and you’re good to go, as soon as they start to brown a bit.
- Lazy? You could totally use pre-made tart shells. I’ll turn the other way. Oh, and you could use pumpkin pie spice instead of measuring out each individual spice. (Use about 2 teaspoons in total.) You could also skip the cream cheese layer, but I beg you not to. Please don’t skip the cream cheese layer.
- Garnish with a Roasted Cinnamon-Sugar Pecan if you happen to have any hanging around in your freezer, like I do. I’m so very glad I do. They added a nice crunch to this dessert, let me tell you…
- I totally forgot about the Browned Butter Pumpkin Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting– how is that possible? I made the dessert this year, too. Am I really losing my mind? Good desserts will do that to you.
- Enjoy!
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November 6th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Tarts