Thanksgiving Pie Tarts – Individual pumpkin pie, pecan pie and sweet potato pie tarts that will each serve 1-4 people. This is a fun recipe that looks impressive and will allow everyone to enjoy a lighter, more elegant twist on classic Thanksgiving desserts! Disclaimer: I was compensated for taking part the Thanksgiving Table Program from Whole Foods and Kitchen PLAY. As always, all opinions are my own.
I have always been an indecisive person, especially when it comes to food. I like having options but I want to taste everything. Holiday parties are always a struggle for me. And Thanksgiving is the most challenging holiday of them all.
You know what I’m talking about. That massive, gorgeous, colorful spread of food. The overwhelming savory smells of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry relish, sweet potatoes… I try to take a tiny portion of everything yet by the time
I’ve made my way across the table my plate is about to break from the weight of it all. Forget about leaving room for dessert!
Ah, dessert. I don’t know about your family but mine goes all out when it comes to Thanksgiving desserts. I always walk up to the dessert table with a sense of both desire and dread. Can I possibly eat anything else?
On the flip side, will I be able to try everything? I’m usually the person that walks away with tiny slivers of each pie and cake that are very difficult to eat or properly enjoy. And this is why I came up with the idea for Thanksgiving Pie Tarts.
Why get stuck with tiny slivers of pie every year? Each of these “pie” tarts (pumpkin, sweet potato and pecan) could be a single serving dessert or provide perfect small portions for 2-4 people. They’re thinner and lighter than their pie counterparts.
It’s the perfect solution for the indecisive diner like me. It’s also a great option if you’re having a small Thanksgiving gathering but want to offer more than one dessert option.
I was very excited to partner with Kitchen PLAY and Whole Foods Market for their Thanksgiving Table Program. I’ve been a Whole Foods shopper for years and I love working with their products. To me, good recipes are all about high quality ingredients and I know that when I work with Whole Foods Market products I will achieve the desired results.
For these Thanksgiving Pie Tarts I used Whole Foods Market 365 Brand Pecans, Unsalted Butter, All Purpose Flour and Farmer’s Market Organic Pumpkin. A few notes about dough:
- Roll the dough very thin. These are small tarts so you want as much room for filling as possible!
- The key to working with homemade tart dough is to keep it chilled. If you try to roll it out or place it in the oven while it’s at room temperature the dough will shrink. And dough can warm up quickly when rolling it out for tarts. Keep an eye on it. If it becomes elastic and starts to shrink back in while you’re rolling it, don’t worry. Simply cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes until it’s cold again.
- It’s also very important to chill the dough once it has been rolled into the tart molds before baking them. Otherwise the dough can shrink down in the mold and leave very little room for the filling.
- Before baking the dough you want to use a fork to prick tiny holes in the bottom, as seen in the photo above. This is known as docking and will prevent air bubbles from forming while baking. Also, adding dried beans weighs down the dough and also helps prevent air bubbles.
Thanksgiving Pie Tarts
Ingredients
Pate Brisee Tart Dough:
- 12 ounces all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 7 ounces unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
- 1/3 cup ice cold water
Pecan Pie Filling:
- 1/2 large egg, beaten (approximately 2 tablespoons)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/8 cup pure maple syrup
- 2/3 cup pecans coarsely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pumpkin Pie Filling:
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not canned pumpkin pie filling!)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Sweet Potato Pie Filling:
- 1/2 large egg, beaten (approximately 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Prepare the tart dough:
- Add flour, butter and salt into a food processor
- Pulse on and off until the mixture is crumbly.
- Slowly add the water with the machine running just until the dough forms a ball.
- Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Lightly dusting a clean surface with flour, roll the dough as thin as possible and then gently roll into tart molds. Re-roll the dough as needed so there is enough for all 6 tart molds. Chill the tarts for 30 minutes and then use a fork to poke numerous holes into the bottom of the dough (this is known as docking and will prevent air bubbles). Place the tarts on a baking sheet. Line the tart shells with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans. Bake the dough for 20 minutes, removing the beans and foil for the last 5 minutes. Allow to cool while preparing the other ingredients.
Prepare the tarts:
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk one egg and divide the mixture in half to use in the pecan pie filling and sweet potato filling.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the pecan pie filling. In a separate bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the pumpkin pie filling.
- In a food processor, puree the ingredients for the sweet potato pie filling.
- Place the baked tart shells on a baking sheet. Each of the 3 pie fillings makes enough for 2 tarts (for a total of 6 tarts). Briefly stir each pie filling with a spatula in case separation has occurred and then divide each mixture into the 6 tart pans.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 23 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the tart molds.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Ah, the infamous dessert table. The tipping point after an already full afternoon of tastings! We usually end up taking most of the dessert home–slivers of others’ creations. Which these tarts would be perfect for! A little send-off with love.
I love the fact that they’re small…great for kids!
I have to make these this thanksgiving!!
Individual pies – what a great idea!
I love these single serving tarts!
The perfect size pies!
I love having 3 options. Such great recipes that will make everyone happy in the family.
These are so elegant and cute!
These are just perfect. Great recipes!
Such a fun idea to make little desserts of different varieties for people to choose from. They’re adorable!
This will be a sure hit for Thanksgiving!
OMG these are all so awesome! I’m indecisive too, and these are the perfect choice for Tday dessert!
I love this idea! I always want to try everything and this way I can!
Do you have a recipe for apple pie, that’s my husbands favorite?.
I want to make these desserts for xmas, my favorite is pecan.
I don’t keep sweets in the house because for example I can eat a pecan pie in 2 days during the holiday’s and when we go to holiday functions I want a sliver of every desert. Every year I look for healthy individual pie recipes but never can find any, So these are so perfect.
Thank you
Where did you purchase your small tart pans?
I found them on Amazon! Search for 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms :)