Individual Crustless Pumpkin Pies (aka Pumpkin Custards)

I know I know I know…  according to Rule #987539875 in the Food Bloggers Handbook I was supposed to post pumpkin pie recipes at least 3 days prior to Thanksgiving.

Well, I would have done that except for one

little

bitty

teeny

tiny

thing…

OK, actually that sort of just an excuse.  I didn’t actually get to making these till the day before Thanksgiving.  And I thought of making myself a birthday cake to post, but between the gluten-free chocolate chip cookies I found in the freezer, the diner carrot cake for Thanksgiving, the one and a half ginormous cupcakes I ate in the couple days after Thanksgiving, the gluten-free pumpkin cake/bread I made (want to make one tweak before I share it), and the half of a Snickers pie (posting this next week, I hope) that I managed to consume in just two sittings, I thought the towering pile of cake and frosting that I dream of would be a bit excessive and dangerous to have in my kitchen.

And this gives me the opportunity to tell you a little story.  Because I like to let myself think that you are all interested in my silly little life  For those of you that are – I love you!  Let’s be friends!

So anyway, back to my story.  Being born on November 27th, my birthday usually falls or within a day or two of Thanksgiving.  This year is actually an unusual one, with it being so far from Thanksgiving.  As a kid, since we were already getting together as a family on Thanksgiving, and often on the next day for consumption of leftovers, my family birthday celebration was usually done on Thanksgiving.  So this meant my candles went in the pumpkin pie, since apple pie is not the best support system for birthday candles.  One problem…

I hated pumpkin pie.  I really just wanted a Fudgie the Whale, or something.  Heck, a Funfetti cake would have been awesome.  But I got pumpkin pie.  Yay!

Sometime later in life I actually started liking pumpkin pie.  Not sure when, not sure why.  But since by that time I was developing my culinary skills, I decided that we would no longer buy our pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  I would make it.  So I began making it, and I went to Martha for her recipe.  The filling was always perfect (though I always seemed to have to bake it longer than her directions called for).  In fact, The Hubby, who claimed to never really like pumpkin pie (yeah, like he is “not really a soup person“) happily eats it every year.  Or he just wants to keep up the facade, since the first time he said he liked it was the first time he spent Thanksgiving with my family, and he was trying to impress everyone (he also did the dishes – first man to ever do that in our house).  I’m going to keep convincing myself it is because I just make an exceptionally good pumpkin pie.

But I just could not master the crust.  Crust is still a work in progress for me.  And I don’t work too hard at it because I don’t really like the crust.  I tried a gingersnap crust one year, but it was just a little too much spice with the pumpkin pie filling.  After I found out about the wheat allergy, I tried just baking the filling in the pie pan – no crust.  It was just perfect for me!

So I decided this year to bake myself some individual crustless pumpkin pies!  If you really want something crunchy, sprinkle some graham cracker or gingersnap drums in the bottom of the ramekins, or over the top, and make it all fancy-like.  I used gluten-free gingersnaps.

And I am gonna be honest with you – that isn’t homemade whipped cream that my candle is sitting in.

It’s Cool Whip – I know, I am a disappointment to foodies and healthy folks worldwide, but I just HAVE to have Cool Whip on my pumpkin pie.  I am not going to apologize for that.  We all have our things.  And it’s my birthday!

What kind of cake/pie/treat do you like for your birthday?

Individual Crustless Pumpkin Pies (aka Pumpkin Custards)

 

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Pumpkin Pie filling, baked in individual ramekins, for those that aren’t crust-lovers.

Author: Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips (Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart’s Traditional Pumpkin Pie)

Recipe type: Dessert, Pie

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• ¾ c packed light-brown sugar
• 1 T cornstarch
• ½ t kosher salt
• 2 t pumpkin pie spice
• 3 large eggs
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 6-8 ramekins or custard cups in a large baking dish. Heat a pot or teapot of water to boiling, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and eggs.
3. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
4. Add evaporated milk, and stir to combine.
5. Fill the ramekins with the pumpkin mixture. Pour the hot water in the baking dish around the ramekins.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes (depending on how many you make and how full the ramekins are), or until set in the middle.
7. Remove from the oven, and let cool in the pan until cool enough to handle.
8. Remove the ramekins from the water bath. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled in the refrigerator.

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Enjoy!

This recipe was shared with: Crazy for Crust Pi Day Pie Party 2013

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Tagged as: Dessert, Gluten-free, pie, Pumpkin, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian