Today’s recipe is for the pumpkin pie lovers out there who 1) are watching what they eat and 2) don’t want to play with pie dough. Now I love me a decadent dessert, and I LOVE playing with pie dough (you have seen my Game of Thrones Deep Dish Frey Pie and Dutch Apple Galette for Two haven’t you?), but I also appreciate a lighter recipe that’s easy to boot, so here’s a lighter pumpkin pie. In place of a traditional pie crust, I used a brown sugar graham cracker base. It’s pretty much the same one I used in my S’mores Cupcakes, so you know it’s going to be good. And instead of cutting and fussing and shaping pie dough, you just crush, mix, and spread this crust. Way easier, just as delicious. On top of the graham cracker crust, you have a lighter pumpkin pie custard. Normal pumpkin pie usually uses evaporated milk, condensed milk, or cream in the custard part of the pie, but this pie is made with low-fat milk which slashes the calories, but is still so creamy and good and everything you love about pumpkin pie.
And just to keep things interesting, I added a dab of whiskey-infused whipped cream. You can use bourbon, Kahlua, whatever alcohol you like that would complement pumpkin pie. The boozy flavor isn’t overpowering. It’s just a little exciting and a lot delicious. This perfect little pie will make 4 to 6 servings depending on how you slice it and comes in at around 200 calories a serving (about 150 without whipped cream). If you are having an intimate Thanksgiving gathering or just feel like pie and don’t want to share with the world, definitely consider this one.
More Mini Desserts
Small Banana Cake Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes Easy Small Red Velvet Cake
Mini Pumpkin Pie Recipe Notes
You’ll need a 7 x 5-inch baking dish for this pie. I used a ceramic one for the photos (because it’s purdy), but I usually use Pyrex dishes* for small-batch baking since you can bake in them and then just throw on a lid for storage. The normal pumpkin pie “jiggle test” doesn’t work with this pie since the custard layer is not very deep. It will stop jiggling long before it’s actually set. To test for doneness, insert a knife into the center of the pie. When it comes out clean, your pie is ready. For convenience, if you stock pumpkin pie spice (homemade or store-bought*), you can replace the spices in the pie (not the salt) with 1 teaspoon of pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice.
