Mini Pumpkin Pies with Flour-less Crust

I’m so excited right now. No, really. Super excited. It’s Thanksgiving week! As an American living in Canada, there is one holiday Canadians don’t do as well as American: Thanksgiving. (To All My Canadian Friends and Family: Please accept my apology for the previous line. However, it’s true. Again. Sorry.) And, therefore, every year I can’t wait to get home for this holiday. In case you don’t know, Canadian Thanksgiving is the first Monday of October. It’s lovely. It’s delightful. And I never have to choose between families for the holiday, but it’s just not the same. Maybe because there’s nothing like going home.

One of the things I can’t wait to get home for is my mother’s pumpkin pie. Her sausage stuffing is also legend in our family but, as you know, I’m all about pumpkin. She always makes an extra pie that gets hidden in our refrigerator. It’s the covert pie that no one knows about. We like to share it after the rest of the family has tore apart the formal one created for dessert. Our covert pie has no crust, since mom and I usually want to do without the calories. It’s our little secret and it usually lasts us the rest of the holiday weekend. We actually pick away at it, two spoons in hand, no plates. However, this year, I found a recipe for a flour-less crust that I had to try. I completely switched up the ingredients to arrive at this nutty and spicy mix that confirms I never need to eat a pumpkin pie with a proper crust again, especially after trying this. I also made mini pies since that’s how I usually (Read: should) eat my pie. One piece, that’s it. For some reason, having to start an entirely new mini pie feels silly. However, I can slice another and another and another little sliver out of a full pie no problem. It’s how I end up having too much. Way. Too. Much.

Photos by Maya Visnyei

Scarlett was as sick as a dog the day we made these mini pies. She doesn’t look it but, trust me, you wouldn’t want to have eaten them. I’m pretty sure she sneezed about a dozen time in their vicinity. I promise this wasn’t my excuse to eat them all myself. Sorry Anne! I never dropped any off to you because of the excessive sneezing, not because I’m a pie hoarder.

I used ramekins for my mini pies but it would have been better to use proper pie tins. However, I didn’t get to the store. I had a sick little girl, so there you go. You do what you can.

I always put parchment underneath Scarlett’s spice measuring work space. I can collect the overflow and put it back in the bottle so there is no waste. And, as you can see, we would have waste.

I really feel like Scarlett and I are a true team in the kitchen. There are so many things I can trust her with now that she’s older. Pouring a big, heavy jug of pumpkin pie mix would be one of those things. No. Spilling. For real.

I couldn’t wait to get home to the States to share these with my mom. I’m sure she’ll feel the same way I do about them–that they don’t disappoint. And, as tradition dictates, after everyone has gone, we’ll enjoy them curled up on the couch together. God, I love Thanksgiving.

This post was originally posted on November 21, 2011.