Pumpkin Puffs
If you are still working on your vegan holiday menu and want to add a non fussy appetizer, I have just the thing for you today. Vegan pumpkin puffs are the holidays wrapped up in a bite sized sweet and savory pumpkin morsel. This is a unique vegan appetizer that can easily be made for a larger group with few ingredients that are easy to find.
Vegan pumpkin puffs are a very easy vegan appetizer you can make quickly. If you can’t find an ingredient, it’s pretty flexible to substitute out the pine nuts or the pumpkin puree for pumpkin butter. These puffs look lovely plated but also work well as a served appetizer.
Ingredients for Vegan Pumpkin Puffs
Some tools you will need are two round cutter, one smaller than the other and a spoon that’s shaped like a 1/2 circle to make the dip in the dough more uniform.
Puffed Pastry Sheet
I am not a baker. At all. So I avoid making dough at all costs. The only dough I have been somewhat successful at is pizza dough, and that’s only some of the time. Enter, pre-made pastry sheets. Most of the time they are accidentally vegan, but check the ingredients to make sure. You want the kind that puffs up a little and doesn’t have any additional flavors like cinnamon or sun dried tomato, just plain vegan pastry sheet that’s one long sheet and not pre-cut in any way.
Pumpkin Puree
This is a little flexible. You have three solid options. The first option is to make the pumpkin puree yourself, How to make pumpkin puree is pretty simple and you only need pumpkin to do it. The second is to use canned pumpkin (aka pumpkin puree). Your third option is to use pumpkin butter, which has additional sweeteners and spices. If you go the pumpkin butter route, you can skip the maple syrup and coconut sugar.
Savory Spices and Sweets
Celery salt, thyme, and sage is ground into a powder to give these puffs a savory kick. The key is to use the spices in their powdery form. For the sweet stuff, I like to use coconut sugar because it dissolves so well in the puree. It’s a more mellow sweet than than traditional sugar, which is why there is the additional maple syrup sweetener.
Pine Nuts
Toasting the pine nuts will stink up your kitchen for a new minutes, but will be worth it. They add a deeper flavor when you toast them up and are a bit more crunchy than raw. If you don’t like pine nuts, don’t have them or can’t find them, walnuts are a good substitute if you crumble them a bit.
How to Make Pastry Cups
I use a 2″ circle cutter and a 1″ circle cutter to make the vegan pumpkin puff pastry cups. I was able to make 18 cups by cutting 18 2″ circles and 18 1″ circles with one sheet of pastry puff. To make the cups, simply place the 1″ circle on top of the 2″ circle and then take your round-bottom spoon and press until they merge together a little.
Baking Puff Cups
Before you cut your brisket, you will need to wait for it to cool for about 20-30 minutes. I know it’s super You will want to bake them at the temperature according to the package for five minutes and then take them out and deflate by poking the ones that puffed up with a fork and using the circle bottom spoon to redefine the cup in the puff.
Take a teaspoon of your pumpkin mixture and put it in the cup and continue baking according to the pastry package directions.
Cream Cheese Drizzle and Toppings
To make the vegan cream cheese drizzle, all you need to do is heat the vegan cream cheese and whisk it. Drizzle the vegan pumpkin puffs first then sprinkle with dried thyme and top with toasted pine nuts.
Serving Vegan Pumpkin Puffs
Vegan Pumpkin Puffs are a pastry, so it can stand in for bread in a main meal and can also act as an appetizer. When you cut the circle, you may notice little stars left over you can bake them and they will add to the presentation.
Vegan Pumpkin Puffs
Delicious and easy vegan pumpkin puffs for any holiday meal. Both sweet and savory with traditional holiday spices and yummy pumpkin smoothness.
Ingredients
- 1 Sheet of vegan pastry Puff
- 250 g/ 1 cup of Pumpkin butter or Pumpkin Puree
- 1 tbsp dried ground thyme
- 1 tbsp dried ground sage
- 1/2 tbsp celery salt
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- If using Pumpkin Puree 1 tbsp maple syrup + 1 cup of coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven according to pastry sheet instructions
- Using a 2" circle cutter, cut out 18 circles
- Using the 1" circle cutter, cut out 18 more circles
- Line your baking sheet with a sheet of baking paper
- Place the 1" circles on top of the 2" circles
- Press a small well into the center of the 1" circle using a round bottom spoon (see images above for help)
- Bake for 5 minuets
- While the cups are baking, combine your pumpkin puree/pumpkin butter with spices and mix well
- Remove under-cooked cups from oven
- Deflate any cups that have puffed up with a fork
- Use the same round bottom spoon to reinforce the cup shape and fill cup with 1 teaspoon of pumpkin mixture
- Finish cooking puffs according to pastry instructions
- Once fully baked, remove from oven and let cool
- While puffs are cooling, melt your vegan cream cheese
- Drizzle vegan cream cheese over puffs
- Sprinkle with pine nuts and additional thyme and sage powder
- Enjoy!
Notes
When you cut the circles, you may notice some "stars" left behind in the dough - bake them for an extra festive presentation!
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