Mini pumpkin pies with gingersnap crusts are dairy-free, gluten-free, and taste like fall. Creamy pumpkin pie filling is made with simple ingredients -- pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup, and warm spices -- layered over a 3-ingredient gingersnap cookie crust for a super easy fall dessert everyone will love.
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You’re going to love these
Dairy-free. Pumpkin pie doesn’t need evaporated milk to be creamy. Who knew? This dairy-free pumpkin pie filling doesn’t use any milk substitutions. There’s just no dairy in it. I did use dairy-free white chocolate for the drizzle and dairy-free whipped cream for topping.
Gluten-free. Gluten-free gingersnaps, pecans, and coconut oil make a deliciously fall-flavored cookie crust for these mini pumpkin pies.
Cayenne and black pepper. This recipe goes beyond the usual pumpkin pie spices to give even more flavor and warmth to these mini pies. We’re talking cayenne pepper and black pepper. But don’t worry, it’s not hot and spicy! I got the idea because cayenne and black pepper are sometimes found in gingersnaps, just not in the gluten-free gingersnaps I used. So I decided to put these ingredients into the pie filling instead. If you’re at all worried it will be too spicy, try using half the amount, or skipping it altogether.
Adorable. Fact: mini foods are fun. And cute. But who really cares if food is cute? Me. After all, we eat with our eyes first.
Easy. Using gingersnap crusts is a time-saver and flavor-enhancer. No need to make your own pie crust or roll out store-bought pie dough sheets and try to figure out how to crimp the edges as neatly as your grandmother did. And the gingersnaps add even more warm fall flavor to the party.
Portion control. I don’t know about you, but we do not need a whole pumpkin pie staring us down every time we open the fridge. These are easy to make a few for now and freeze a few for later. Although, I will warn you, they taste excellent straight from the freezer.
How to Make Mini Pumpkin Pies with Gingersnap Crusts
Preheat the oven to 400.
Prepare your muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
Make the gluten-free pumpkin pie crust. Make gingersnap crumbs by crushing 20 gluten-free gingersnaps in a food processor or blender with ¼ cup pecans.
Add 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil to the cookie crumbs and stir until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Place 1 tablespoon of the gingersnap crumb mixture into each muffin cup. Tap it down with the back of the spoon.
Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Be careful not to burn them.
Make the dairy-free pumpkin pie filling. In a large bowl, beat three eggs. Whisk in the maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, cayenne pepper, black pepper, vanilla, and salt. Add the pumpkin puree and stir until combined.
With a ladle, fill each cup with the pumpkin pie filling. This filling won’t rise, so you can fill each cup all the way to the top.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into one mini pumpkin pie comes out clean.
Overbaking will result in cracks and moisture on your mini pumpkin pies. So check for doneness at the 20-minute mark and every few minutes after that.
Place your muffin pan on a baking rack to cool for about ten minutes. When the muffin cups are cool enough to handle, remove them from the pan and let them cool the rest of the way, for about an hour and a half.
Mini pumpkin pies are delicious just as they are. Or you can zhuzh them up with a drizzle of dairy-free white chocolate, gluten-free gingersnap dipped in white chocolate and rolled in pecans, or a dollop of dairy-free whipped cream.
Mini Pumpkin Pies with Gingersnap Crust (Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Gingersnap Crusts
- 20 gluten-free gingersnaps
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 dash black pepper
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 can pumpkin puree
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Prepare your muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- Make the gluten-free pumpkin pie crust. Make gingersnap crumbs by crushing 20 gluten-free gingersnaps in a food processor or blender with ¼ cup pecans.
- Add 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil to the cookie crumbs and stir until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Place 1 tablespoon of the gingersnap crumb mixture into each muffin cup. Tap it down with the back of the spoon.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Be careful not to burn them.
- Make the dairy-free pumpkin pie filling. In a large bowl, beat three eggs. Whisk in the maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, cayenne pepper, black pepper, vanilla, and salt. Add the pumpkin puree and stir until combined.
- With a ladle, fill each cup with the pumpkin pie filling. This filling won’t rise during baking, so you can fill each cup all the way to the top.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into one mini pie comes out clean.
- Overbaking will result in cracks and moisture on your mini pumpkin pies. So check for doneness at the 20-minute mark and every few minutes after that.
- Place your muffin pan on a baking rack to cool for about ten minutes. When the muffin cups are cool enough to handle, remove them from the pan and let them cool the rest of the way, for about an hour and a half.
- Mini pumpkin pies are delicious just as they are. Or you can zhuzh them up with a drizzle of dairy-free white chocolate, a gluten-free gingersnap dipped in white chocolate and rolled in pecans, or a dollop of dairy-free whipped cream.
Nutrition
MY KITCHEN ESSENTIALS
Wilton Muffin Pan
I love this muffin pan because most don't have a handle to grab onto, so it's really hard to pull it out of the oven without your oven mitted thumb going into a muffin. This one makes it really easy.
KitchenAid Ladle
My KitchenAid ladle makes measuring out portions easy and relatively mess-free. I hate having to clean burned drips off of the muffin pan.
Vintage Pyrex Bowl
This is THE bowl I use for everything. It was handed down to me from my mom -- she got it in 1967. It's the right size for everything and it has handy pour spouts on each side. Don't put it in the microwave though, or those roosters will start to spark (not that I know from experience...)
What is the actual measurement of 20 gingersnaps? Mine are already ground up.
Hi, Donna, how handy that you have gingersnaps already ground up! I would think that if you use about 3/4 to 1 cup of crumbs, by the time you add the pecans and it gets packed down a bit with the melted coconut oil, you should have enough to fill each of the 12 cups with the crumb mixture. Let me know how this works :).
This looks delicious Cara!
I'd love to try it but would like to make it into a pie. Any tips on cook time adjustment?
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi, thank you so much! So... let me start by saying I have not made this into a full pie before, but here's what I would do. In a 350 degree oven, bake the crust for 10-15 minutes or just until very lightly browned, then let it cool for about 10 minutes. Add the filling and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the edges are set but the center jiggles slightly. And, if it were me doing this the first time, I would check both the crust and the filling earlier than these times just to make sure nothing gets overbaked. If you use the toothpick test to check for doneness, insert it about halfway between the center and the edges. Or you can use an instant thermometer, which should read about 175. I hope this helps! Good luck! I'd love to hear how this turns out!