It seems that everything is popping up pumpkins this time of year, and I have been thinking of a great recipe to herald in the Fall/Autumn season. As I worked on putting it together, I was happily amazed at how delicious all of the flavors melted together to make a quintessential Fall/Autumn tasting treat.
I’m taking a small break from my writing, so this recipe isn’t inspired by any of my currently available titles. However, it is a great snack to get into the seasonal spirit.
I took my inspiration from traditional pumpkin empanadas. If you have never and an empanada before, they are absolutely divine. They can be found in a range of countries, including Mexico and the Philippines, just to name a couple. They can be savory or they can be sweet, and sometimes a little bit of both. Growing up in the Southwest, I’ve always enjoyed eating empanadas, especially the pumpkin and cream cheese filled kind.
However, this recipe isn’t exactly an empanada recipe. I tried to make it more like a toaster pastry, Pop Tart type of treat, hence the Mapel Brown Butter Frosting layer. In the end, the Pumpkin Carmel Pastry itself has a nice flaky crust, with a yummy mix of pumpkin and caramel in the middle.
A few notes on making this. With the pumpkin filling, this recipe makes more than you will need because it is hard to add half an egg. I put the remainder of the mixture in a greased loaf pan and cooked it for 30 minutes and made crustless pumpkin pie, so there you go, two desserts in one!
Another note, if you have an air fryer, you can cook the pastries for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. However, make sure that the dough isn’t too thick or else it won’t cook right. Also, make sure the pastries aren’t touching.
The amount of frosting is just the right amount for this batch. If you love Maple Brown Butter Frosting, or your kids have a habit of sneaking into the frosting while you’re not looking, you might want to double the batch.
For those who would prefer to use refrigerated pie crusts, you could do that, but the store-bought stuff will be missing the extra flavor and flakiness of the pastry dough.
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Pumpkin Caramel Pastries with Maple Brown Butter Frosting
Ingredients
Crust
- 4 cups flour
- 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 cups butter melted
- 3/4 cups shortening (butter flavored)
- 1 1/4 cups water warm
Filling
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 bottle caramel syrup
Maple Brown Butter Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp cream
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (real or artificial)
Instructions
- Combine all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger)
- Melt butter, then add to dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Add shortening. Mix until the mixture becomes crumbs.
- Slowly add water to the mixture. Mix until dough is formed into a ball.
- Roll out dough to 1/8 inches in thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use cookie cutters to cut out top and bottom layers of pastry.
- In seperate bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.
- In the middle of the cut-out dough, place 1 tbsp of the pumpkin mixture and about 2 tsp of caramel syrup. Be sure not to over fill!!!!
- Put some water on your finger and lightly wet the edges of the bottom pastry layer. Then stretch out top layer over the filling and press along the edges with a fork or your fingers, sealing the edges together.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven between 20-25 minutes. The pastries are done when the bottoms begin to brown.
- While pastries are baking, place 1/2 cup of butter in a small saucepan on medium heat. Stir it until butter melts and turns brown. Pour all melted butter in a bowl. Use a mixer to mix in powdered sugar, maple syrup, and cream.
- When pastries are done cooking, and have completely cooled off, frost with frosting. Enjoy!
