Learn how to make the best pumpkin tarts for Thanksgiving with this easy recipe, including a super easy all-butter pie crust recipe made in the food processor!
Don't get me wrong, I love pumpkin pie. But sometimes you want the flavour of the popular Thangsiving dessert in a smaller form. Cue pumpkin tarts! Just as good as the pie version but infinitely cuter!
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What You Need To Make Homemade Pumpkin Tarts
- pumpkin purée-use store-bought or homemade pumpkin purée, but remember if using homemade, you need to strain it or use another method to remove the excess moisture
- cream-while most pumpkin filling recipes may include evaporated milk, I much prefer to use 35 % whipping cream for a creamier filling
- sugar-I like to use a combination of brown sugar and maple syrup for the most flavour, especially with canned pumpkin, which can have a slightly metallic, very vegetal flavour
- eggs-use large eggs. If you use smaller eggs, this will affect the filling
- spices-you can use a pumpkin spice blend, apple pie spices, or the combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves listed in the recipe
- flour-I bake with bleached all-purpose flour. If using unbleached, this may affect how much water you need to add to the dough to bind it together and properly hydrate it
- butter-use unsalted butter for the crust so you can control the amount of salt added
- salt-I bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the crust may be too salty
- granulated sugar-the crust has a little granulated sugar to help with flavour and browning. It's optional
- water-use cold water to keep the dough as cold as possible.
Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions And Variations
- pumpkin pie filling: canned pumpkin pie filling usually already has the spices added, so either don't add more or reduce the amount you add. Check the label to see what's included in the filling and adjust the recipe accordingly
- pie crust: you can use store-bought crust instead of the dough recipe. You will need 480 grams (1.1 pounds) of dough to make 8 tarts
How To Make Pumpkin Tarts From Scratch
The food processor is your best bet for making pie crust easily and without any stress, and the results are spectacular: a flavourful, flaky homemade crust. Here's how to make pumpkin tarts from scratch, including the dough.
Make the Tart Shells First
Step 1-Start by making the dough in the food processor, blending cubes of cold butter with the dry ingredients (image 1) and processing until the pieces of butter are very fine (image 2), then add the cold water (image 3) and process the mixture until the dough clumps together (image 4).
For the all-butter pie crust, you can make it by hand, rubbing the cold pieces of butter into the flour in a big bowl before adding the cold water. You can also use a food processor, which is faster. Once the dough is made, chill it for at least 30 minutes to let the flour hydrate.
Step 2-I like to divide the dough into 8 equal pieces since we are making 8 tart shells (image 5). You can chill them in an airtight bag in the fridge until ready to use. Make sure they are cold before using. For 4-inch tart shells, roll out each piece of dough to about 5-5.5 inches so you have enough surface area to cover the bottom and sides (image 6). You can use your fingertips to trim the excess dough (image 7) by pressing the overhang of crust along the edges of the pans.
Step 3-Once you've chilled the tart shells sufficiently, dock them with a fork to create air holes, then use either pie weights or empty ceramic ramekins to weigh them down (image 8). Blind-bake them until golden brown (image 9).
Make The Pumpkin Filling And Bake
Step 4-Whisk the filling ingredients (image 10) until smooth (image 11).
Step 5-Once the tart shells have cooled, divide the filling among the baked shells (image 12) and bake until set (image 13).
Note: I have tested this recipe without blind-baking the tart shells but I find the pastry bakes better if you pre-bake the tart shells separately before filling and baking again.
Step 6-Unmould the baked tarts (image 14) onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Remember that the best way to remove a tart from a tart pan is to set it carefully over a narrow object. This way, you can slide the ring off, and your mini pumpkin pie tarts should slide right off the bottom easily.
Tart Tips
I suggest dividing the dough into 8 just before you roll it rather than cutting out 8 circles from a larger sheet of rolled-out dough: it's easier to divide the dough this way, whereas you might have a hard time cutting out 8 circles of dough from a larger rolled-out disk, and you'd have to re-roll the scraps to make it work. If that doesn't make sense, just trust me on it. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, then roll it out into 8 circles.
Serving Suggestions
Since the pumpkin pie filling uses whipping cream, you might as well use that to make a nice whipped cream garnish for the tarts! This maple whipped cream also makes a great topping, or these pie crust cookies.
Other Pumpkin Baking Recipes
With pumpkin purée, you can make so many autumn treats, like whole wheat pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin pie shakes, maple pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie shakes. Whether you opt for canned or homemade is entirely up to you, but there are tricks to baking with pumpkin purée.
If you would like to explore more recipes for baking with pumpkin, order your copy of the e-book All About Pumpkin and celebrate this star ingredient!
If you tried this recipe for the best pumpkin tarts (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Mini Pumpkin Tarts
Ingredients
All-butter crust
- 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 173 grams unsalted butter cut into small pieces and kept really cold until you are ready to use it
- 10 grams granulated sugar
- 2.5 mL salt
- 47 grams cold water if dough is dry add 1 extra tablespoon of water
Pumpkin tart filling
- 250 grams pumpkin purée or strained homemade pumpkin purée
- 80 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
- 50 grams light brown sugar
- 15 mL pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg(s)
- 2.5 mL ground cinnamon
- 1.25 mL ground ginger
- 0.625 mL ground nutmeg
- 0.625 mL ground cloves
Garnish (optional)
- 250 mL sweetened whipped cream
Instructions
To make the tart shells from scratch
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Drop in the diced butter and process the mixture using the pulse function (short bursts, on and off, repeatedly) until the mixture resembles a fine crumb.
- Add the water and process again until the dough clumps together.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (this was roughly 55 grams each for me, but weigh your dough and divide accordingly). Flatten each piece into a small disk. Chill for at least 1 hour in a plastic bag.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time on a floured surface, roll each piece into a round so that it is larger than your 3.75-4" fluted tart pans (similar to these on Amazon). Fit each round of dough into each pan and trim the excess. Repeat with the remaining dough to make 8 tart shells total. Chill on a small sheet pan in the fridge while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425 °F (220 °C).
- Use pie weights or dry beans on parchment paper (I found ramekins fit the cavities of my tarts perfectly and did this job extremely well!) to weigh down the crusts and blind-bake them. Bake them for 17 minutes. Remove the pie weights (or ramekins) and bake until golden (about 3 minutes more). Let cool on the baking sheet.
To make the filling
- Drop the oven temperature to 350 °F (175 °C).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, maple syrup, cream, egg, and spices.
- Divide the filling between the 8 unbaked shells.
- Bake until set (15-20 minutes)
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool (you can unmold them after 10 minutes using my trick to remove tarts from tart pans!).
- Dollop whipped cream on the tarts or pipe to decorate them (if using).
Notes
- This recipe was tested with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
Barbara Martens says
Would love to make these for our Thanksgiving Dinner event but need to know if I can freeze these baked tarts. If yes, should I "thaw" in the refrigerator or at room temp or reheat at low oven temp.
Janice says
Hi! I’d freeze the baked tarts on a sheet pan until frozen solid, then store in a freezer bag, preferably in a single layer. Then defrost in the fridge overnight on a sheet pan, uncovered. I’d garnish with whipped cream a few hours before serving and store in fridge until you are ready to serve.
Hope that helps!
Joseph Falcone says
Can you make 1 regular pie with this recipe...?
michelle says
If I didn't want to make my own pumpkin puree, is there a nice brand that you would be able to recommend?? Thanks!
Janice says
I think the one I usually buy is Libby's, but I couldn't find it at the end of September when I was working on this recipe. I bet Douceurs du Marché would have some now, as well as most grocery stores.
Stephanie says
Every time I open a can of pumpkin puree I think about how it's just pure pumpkin, and it's being baked into something else anyways...so why bother roasting my own to make a puree? I can see avoiding processed foods because of the additives, but when it's just a pure vegetable it was hard to convince myself that pureeing my own would be worth the trouble
But then you changed everything.. you can use the water to make bread with?! I don't know why this fact is so fascinating to me but now I MUST make my own pumpkin just to try out some pumpkin water in a few bread recipes/
Julia @ Swirls and Spice says
These would work in a muffin tin as well! Looks delicious!
Janice says
Yes! Excellent point!
Wanda says
I love this idea..they look delicious!
Marlene says
Oh, these are little beauties! Love the way you piped on the cream.
Janice says
Thanks, Marlene! And it's not too hard to pipe little stars like this, honestly. If anything it's good practice 😉
Chocolate Shavings says
These look delicious -- and they're so pretty! Love them.
Janice says
Definitely yummy and worth trying, especially if you have the chance to make your own pumpkin purée. The flavour is much milder 🙂
ahu @ ahueats says
Oh my goodness, how adorable are these! I suppose anything that starts with 'little' and ends with 'tarts' has to be cute!
Janice says
Thanks!