Pumpkin Pasties

Ever since Harry first took a bite out of a pumpkin pasty and gave another one to Ron on their way to Hogwarts for the first time, I’ve had a vision of how these would look and taste.  With a flakey crust and a just sweet enough, spicy pumpkin filling, they’d be more like a little meal than a dessert.   The books don’t mention Harry and friends eating pasties every time they get on the train, but I like to think that a trip to to Hogwarts just wouldn’t be complete without a pumpkin pasty or two.

Most vegan pumpkin pie fillings rely on tofu, but I want my soy-free people to be able to enjoy these, too, so this is recipe for pumpkin filling thickened with blended cashews.  These are only a little sweet like I imagine they’d be in the wizard world.  Not that witches and wizards seem to need to worry about their teeth as almost all the food at Hogwarts is some sort of dessert and Hermione is probably the only one of them who’s seen a dentist.

*note the crocheted owl in the background

Pumpkin Pasties Recipe

Dough

This is the empanada dough from Veganomicon without the cornmeal and it’s the easiest to work with, flakiest crust I’ve ever made.

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ tsp baking powder

½ cup non hydrogenated shortening

½ – ¾  cup cold water

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.  Add the shortening in small chunks and mix on low-med speed until the dough is crumbly and resembles pebbles.  Add the vinegar to ½ a cup of the water and add slowly while the mixer is going or in batches if not using an electric mixer.    The dough should form a ball.  If it’s still crumbly add a little more water until it holds together.   Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.   Prepare the pumpkin filling while dough is chilling

Pumpkin filling

You’ll probably have leftovers so go ahead and halve this if you want, or make a little pie with the leftovers.

1 cup raw cashews

Water to blend cashews

1 16 oz can pumpkin

2 Tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot

½ cup sugar

¾ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

Place cashews in a food processor, add ¼ cup water and mix on high speed until a paste has formed. Add more water 1 Tablespoon at a time if necessary. (You could also try soaking and draining the cashews before hand so not as much water will need to be added.)

Add pumpkin and cornstarch and blend again until smooth and no cashew chunks are visible.  Add a little extra water if necessary. The key is to make sure the filling is thick enough so that it doesn’t ooze out of the little pies.  Add in the sugar and spices and blend to combine.

Assemble

Preheat oven to 400 F

Roll out dough to a little less than ¼ inch thick and cut into 3 ½ to 4 inch circles using a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass.  Take one round and stretch it out a bit and then place about 2 tsps of filling in the center.  Fold circle over into a half moon shape and press down the edges with a fork to close.  Make a little slit in the top and sprinkle with a little sugar if you want.   Transfer to greased or parchment covered baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes until pasties are golden brown.

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