Pumpkin Apricot Meringue Tartlets

This picture makes me salivate.  I wish that your monitor had smell-o-vision, or better yet, scratch n’ sniff!  These tartlets were a kick to make.  I guess I should tell you why I made them, right?  Well at the beginning of the week I was contacted by a Twitter friend named Nelly, who is a fantastic food blogger (shameless plug – Cooking with Books – go see her blog)  Anyway, Nelly asked me if I had time to do a guest post on someone elses blog.  Sure, why not, I thought.  I love getting the Farmgirl Gourmet brand out there as much as I can.  It was no less than 1 minute and I had a direct message from Fine Dining Lovers asking if I had any Pumpkin Pie recipes to share on their site.  They were looking for a couple of bloggers to showcase this coming Monday and I couldn’t resist!  I hope you go check out their site right now….and then of course on Monday.  I’m excited to see their post.

If you cruise my blog much, you’ll notice that I’m pretty light in the dessert department.  That doesn’t mean I don’t like them, I just lean towards savory rather than sweet.  So, I figured I better make up a pumpkin recipe for this request.  Above is my brain child.  Ok, it’s sort of my brain child. It just so happens that the Queen of Pie (that would be Martha Stewart) just had a pumpkin pie with meringue in her Thanksgiving edition of MSL.  When I saw it, the first thing that came to mind was that it was brilliant.  I mean, why not.  We eat whipped cream on pumpkin pie, why not meringue?

And what’s even better is making them personal sized.  I love the crust and when you make the tartlets – there’s no lack of crust.  Super score!  Now to only eat one!

The pumpkin pie part of these beauties is from an old old Bon Appetit magazine from 1993.  I added more spice to my version, because I like my pumpkin pie to have that cinnamon-y, clove-y taste to it.  If you don’t, then by all means, omit the cloves.

This picture makes me hungry!

Ok, back to what I was talking about.  So, if you remember a few months ago I made Seckel Pear Tarts using the wide mouth mason jar lids and rings and I absolutely loved them.  Why spend gobs of money on fancy pants tart molds when you can buy a big box of the rings and lids for about $7.  This amazing idea came from Julia from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.  She’s brilliant.  You can tell her I said so.  🙂  Hi Julia!

The below recipe will make 12 tartlets, or 6 tartlets and a small pie, which is how I did it.  Either way….be prepared!  They are so good!!  The apricot adds a whole new dimension to pumpkin pie and the meringue with its light airy texture will make you pass on the whipped cream in the future.  Ok, maybe not, but it’s darned good.  Thanks Martha!

I saved you a bite!  Can you taste it?  Oh alright, I’m done teasing you…let’s go make some pie.

Pumpkin Apricot Meringue Tartlets
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Ingredients
Pumpkin Apricot Pie’s
1 recipe of Pate Brisee, chilled, from Miss Martha – Why try to change greatness

3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 – 15 ounce can pumpkin puree (or homemade)
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1/4 cup apricot preserves
12 wide-mouthed mason jar lids and rings

Meringue
6 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
pinch of cream of tartar

Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place rings on the baking sheet.  Add the mason jar lids with the rubber side facing down.  Roll out the chilled pate brisee to 1/8 inch thickness.  Using a wide mouthed mason jar ring, cut out 12 circles of dough and place in the prepared rings on the baking sheet.  Gather the dough scraps together and roll out again making a 10″ long rectangle.  Use a pastry cutter or sharp knife and make 12 – 1 inch by 10 inch long strips.  Press the strips into the straight edges of the rings and press against the bottom circle of dough to seal them together.  Flatten the tops down to create an overhang, then crimp with your fingers as you would a large pie.  Repeat with the remaining 11 and then place in the refrigerator to chill.

2 In a large bowl add the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt and whisk to combine.  Add the pumpkin puree, whipping cream, sour cream and eggs and whisk well to incorporate.  Remove the tarts from the refrigerator and spoon a 1/2 teaspoon or so of apricot jam in to each one and spread slightly with the spoon.  Using a hinged ice cream scoop, or small ladle, fill the tartlets with pumpkin mixture just up to where the crimped edges of dough begin. (so they don’t spill over when cooking).  Bake for 35 minutes, or until the tops are no longer tacky and the pie crust is lightly browned.  Remove and cool completely.

Meringue
1 In a medium bowl add the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar.  Using a electric hand blender with the whisk attachment, beat until stiff peaks form, about 5-8 minutes.  Using a pastry bag with a large opening tip, pipe the meringue onto the cooled pumpkin apricot tartlets.  Use a kitchen torch to toast the outside of the meringue, or conversely, place under the broiler for about a minute.  Watch it carefully so that it doesn’t burn.  Serve immediately.

Makes 12 Mini Tartets


 “Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom  sponsored by Cherokee USA, Le Creuset, Wilton,Bags by Bloom and  Harvard Common Press”

Recipe By:

Heather Scholten

Co-Founder at Spiceology | More About Heather...

Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.