Home Appetizers Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Mini-Pies {SRC Post}

Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Mini-Pies {SRC Post}

by Ann
16 comments

Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Mini-Pies

This is a Secret Recipe Club post. If you haven’t heard of the Secret Recipe Club, it’s made up of a group of food bloggers. Each month every blogger in the club is “assigned” another participating food blogger to make a recipe from. You choose any recipe from the blog you are assigned, make or bake it, and blog about it, then everyone in your group posts their “secret recipes” on the same date and time. It’s really quite fun.


This month I was assigned Art from my Table. I was immediately intrigued by the name of the blog and excited to dig into Chellie’s recipes. She has such a variety of things to choose from! It took me a while to figure out what to make, but once I saw these little tarts, I was totally hooked.

I don’t make pastries or pies very often … wait, no, that’s not true … I don’t make pies or pastries AT ALL. Unless my dad is around to make the crust for me. I have a huge crust-phobia. But pumpkin, sage, and goat cheese? In a cute little bite? Seriously. That was totally something I had to try. And I really love that I can freeze the dough (and filling) for later, so I don’t have to make them all at once. I have instant impressive appetizers just waiting in my freezer! Next time I will crimp the edges better, though, because most of them opened up like an oyster shell peeking out at you. The crust turned out nice and flaky and tender, though … what was I so afraid of?

Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Mini-Pies

Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Mini-Pies

Recipe from Art from my Table

For the Dough:

  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1 cup of white whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/3 stick of unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 3 tbs heavy cream or yogurt (more if needed … I used plain lowfat yogurt)

Directions:

  1. Place flour, salt and butter in a big bowl. Work with your fingertips or with a pastry blender ‘til the mixture resembles coarse meal. You want to keep some visible pieces of butter
  2. Beat together egg and 3 tbsp of cream. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients.
  3. Using your fingertips, mix them smoothly by making circular movements. Don’t knead the dough.
  4. Keep mixing. The dough should come together quickly and if it doesn’t happen, add one more tablespoon of yogurt. (I did.) It was still crumbly, though, but it did form okay into a ball.
  5. Don’t worry about spots, visible pieces of butter and stripes of yogurt; they are a good sign. Press to form a ball, cover and keep in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Note: You can keep this dough in the freezer for about a month. Just place it in the fridge and let it defrost overnight before using.

For the filling:

  • 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 small onion chopped
  • 1 – 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tbs fresh sage chopped
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • Salt and fresh ground black pepper
  • 4 oz goat cheese
Sauté chopped onions and garlic in olive oil. Add all ingredients, (except the goat cheese), mix well and let it cool completely before using. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Mini-Pies

How to assemble the little pies:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F˚.
  2. Place dough in a floured surface and roll it out into a 1/8 inch thin layer. Using a 4 inch round cookie cutter cut the dough into circles. Place the pumpkin filling in the center of the circle, crumble or place a bit of cheese on top of the pumpkin filling and fold the dough over into a semicircle.
  3. Crimp down the edges and arrange in a baking sheet. Keep doing the same process until the dough is gone (or till you get tired of making them and then just freeze the rest of the dough and filling in separate containers for another time). It should make about 24 little pies.
  4. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame and poppy seeds, and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until golden in color.
Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Mini-Pies


This recipe was also shared at Melt in your Mouth MondaysOld Fashioned Recipe ExchangeMidweek Fiesta, and Full Plate Thursday.

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16 comments

sara February 20, 2012 - 11:57 am

These look wonderful! Great flavors – I love sweet pumpkin with creamy, tangy goat cheese…so good!

Reply
Jo February 20, 2012 - 12:29 pm

These sound fantastic. I love that everything can be made ahead of time, lets you just pull them out to rave reviews when guests drop by!

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Ally's Kitchen February 20, 2012 - 1:31 pm

What a cool idea…the secret recipe club..love the flavors…and the photos are gorgeeeoshus!! xoxoAlly

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misschels February 20, 2012 - 1:40 pm

Sweet pumpkin + tangy goat cheese in a warm breaded pocket? I am in LOVE! Sold!

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Kelly February 20, 2012 - 2:26 pm

Great choice for SRC, these look so delicious! So glad to be in Group C with you! 🙂

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chellie February 20, 2012 - 2:36 pm

Ann, they look beautiful! I wish I had some in my freezer, but we ate them all! Thanks for cooking something off my blog, and I’m so glad to have found you through SRC. I’ll be back!

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Eliot February 20, 2012 - 5:00 pm

These remind me of the flavors of Santa Fe. I had a pumpkin tamale or something that had these same flavors. I love it! Great SRC post.

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Divya Yadava February 20, 2012 - 6:22 pm

Mmmm..I’m a sucker for anything with goat cheese. I like how you’ve used white wholewheat flour – I won’t feel so bad eating it..hehe.

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Lisa { AuthenticSuburbanGourmet } February 20, 2012 - 7:16 pm

What a great combination of flavors – looks delish! Glad to be part of the SRC group C with you!

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betty February 20, 2012 - 7:38 pm

You should really make them more often, pastries are the best and you are quite good at it since this pumpkin and goat cheese pies look fantastic!

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Rhonda February 20, 2012 - 9:35 pm

I hate making crust too! Good for you for being adventurous! Pumpkin and goat cheese really are tempting.

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Devon @ deli-cute-essen February 21, 2012 - 2:21 pm

I am afraid of making crust too! But yours looks like it turned out just lovely. Love the photo’s!

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Kristy Lynn @ Gastronomical Sovereignty February 21, 2012 - 9:27 pm

how cute are these??? anything in mini is always a good idea. and then i eat 3 of them 😉

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Molly Thiersch February 22, 2012 - 1:13 am

This looks so good!! Thanks for posting it. I think I’m going to try it!

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Miz Helen February 26, 2012 - 5:17 pm

What a great combination to put Goat Cheese and Pumpkin together. I will just love this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you have a great week end and come back soon!
Miz Helen

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California Callie April 12, 2012 - 3:33 pm

I thought this kind of recipe is very hard to cook! thanks!

Reply

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