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Easy Mini Pumpkin Pie Cookies for Halloween Treat Bags

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These mini pumpkin pie cookies are sturdy enough for Halloween treat bags, with a buttery shortbread crust and perfectly spiced pumpkin filling. They come together in under an hour and taste like the center slice of a perfect pumpkin pie, shrunk down to cookie size.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2–3 tablespoons ice water
  • ¾ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg (room temperature)
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (pure)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Whipped cream or coconut whipped cream (for serving, optional)
  • Powdered sugar (for dusting, optional)
  • Mini chocolate chips or chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make the Crust Dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture and stir with a fork until the dough starts to come together. If it seems dry, add the remaining tablespoon of water, one teaspoon at a time. The dough should hold togeth…
  2. Prepare the Pumpkin Filling: While the dough chills, in a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, egg, heavy cream, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon until smooth. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Set aside.
  3. Shape the Crusts: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a mini muffin tin with butter or non-stick spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about ⅛-inch thickness. Use a 2 ½-inch round cookie cutter (or the rim of a glass) to cut out circles of dough. Gently press each circle into a mini muffin cup, making sure the dough comes up the sides evenly. You should get about 24 crusts.
  4. Fill and Bake: Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin filling into each crust, leaving about ⅛ inch of space at the top. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the crust edges are golden brown and the filling is set around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the very center.
  5. Cool Completely: Let the cookies cool in the pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, gently run a thin knife around the edges of each cookie and lift them out of the pan. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Keep everything cold for a flaky crust. Don’t overwork the dough. Blind baking isn’t necessary. Use room temperature eggs. Test for doneness with a toothpick. These cookies taste better the day after baking. For gluten-free, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. For vegan, use vegan butter, applesauce or flax egg, and coconut cream. For dairy-free, use vegan butter and coconut cream or oat milk creamer.

Nutrition

Keywords: mini pumpkin pie cookies, Halloween treat bags, pumpkin cookies, fall baking, easy pumpkin recipe, mini tart cookies

Find it online: https://evabakery.com/easy-mini-pumpkin-pie-cookies-for-halloween-treat-bags/