Allergy Friendly Pumpkin Pasties Recipe
September 1st is such a special day for our family. In 2019, it was officially our first day of homeschool. I was in a job that was easy, but provided very little life satisfaction. Kiddo was in full time Pre-K and was absolutely miserable.
That’s a conversation for another day.
Anyways, when the day comes around every year, it’s absolutely cause for celebration. We recognize the work we’ve done in the previous year and the progress Kiddo has made. It’s also time to gather materials and prepare for the year ahead.
But the day is special to us for another reason - Kiddo and I are massive Harry Potter fans. My husband, he doesn’t get it so much, but he humors me regardless.
September 1st is the start of term for students attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and it was extra special for a certain 11 year old boy living under the stairs.
The journey to Platform 9 3/4 is so meaningful to me. We see a child neglected and isolated finally get a chance to learn about his past and connect with others where he can be accepted. It’s such a beautiful entrance to the story and one filled with hope for a new beginning.
Which happens to align perfectly with the time of year as the leaves begin to change. One of our favorite ways to celebrate is with a very popular treat from the books: pumpkin pasties.
Here’s the deal though, most of the recipes available don’t work with our allergies. No worries though, I’m going to work a bit of magic of my own and adapt the recipes in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.
These pumpkin pasties are full of flavor and the texture of the flaky, buttery crust and the sweet filling are perfect compliments to each other.
Let’s get started! Don’t forget, for an easy shopping list, I’ve added the ingredients to my a Benable List.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Dairy free butter sticks
6-8 TBS Ice water
2 cups Canned pumpkin
1/4 cup Granulated sweetener (I used coconut sugar, but white or brown sugar would also work)
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
Directions:
Alright, so the first step is to make the pie crust which will serve as the pastry to hold the filling. Now, if you’ve never make gluten free pie crust, it can be a little on the tricky side.
For the most part, you’re going to follow the instructions on the package. Replace the shortening with your dairy free butter sticks.
It’s very important that you keep the butter cold, so don’t take it out of the fridge until you’re ready to cut it chunks. There’s a lot of dairy free options out there, but my favorite is the Country Crock Plant Based Butter sticks with olive oil. They’ve got a great flavor and work wonderfully for this recipe.
What you’re going to do is layer the crust mix and the butter into a blender or food processor. You don’t want the butter to all clump together so layering it will help with that.
Once it’s all in there, go ahead and pulse your blender 10 times. It should look crumbly, a little like sand. That’s what you’re looking for!
Now dump that buttery goodness into a bowl and slowly add the ice water. Why ice water? We’re working with butter, people! We don’t want it to melt into the mixture fully. By using ice water it will help with your final texture by leaving some chunks of butter that aren’t completely mixed with the flour.
It’s time to get dirty! Get your hands in there and knead the dough together. It’s a gluten free mix we’re working with, so remember it’s going to be a little crumbly. However if the texture doesn’t seem quite right, you can add a little more water.
Be very careful on this step. Our bodies are warm and generate heat. We were just talking about keeping the butter cold which means you’re going to want to get it mixed well and into a dough, but avoid overmixing and melting it.
Next up, plop that dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Flatten it out into a disk and then put it in the fridge to cool for an hour.
You might be tempted to skip this step, but don’t. This allows the butter to firm back up and will ultimately make it easier to work with.
A little before the hour is up, start mixing your filling and preheat the oven to 400f.
The filling is super simple. Just combine the pumpkin, sugar and spices into a bowl and mix until well incorporated. Your kitchen should be smelling delightful about now!
When the hour’s up, grab a baking sheet and line it with parchment. Then, roll out your dough. You can do this with a rolling pin, but if you don’t have one just flatten it out with your hands. You’re looking for between 1/8 and 1/4 inches thick. Don’t go too thin or you’ll never get it off the parchment.
If you’ve got a cookie cutter you want to use, go for it! I like to cut an oval shape out of parchment paper to use as a template and cut around it with a sharp knife.
Why not a circle you ask? The oval shape allows me to fold over the crust while making a handy little pocket for that filling. It means I can put more goodies in the middle and not worry about them spilling!
Speaking of the filling, once you’ve got your shapes cut out and moved to the baking sheet, go ahead and add some of the filling. Make sure you’re leaving room around the edges to seal it in.
Once that’s done, fold over your dough (or if you used a cookie cutter you’ll place a second piece on top) and use a fork to press down on the sides and seal them.
Finally, pierce some holes in the top to let the steam escape and prevent any catastrophes.
All that’s left to do is bake them for about 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Don’t get too excited when pulling them out of the over. That filling is HOT and you’ll want to let them cool a bit.
You can eat these as is, or add some dairy free whipped cream or ice cream to sweeten them up a bit more!
For a full video tutorial of this recipe, watch it on YouTube.
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
