Pumpkin Tart with Pumpkin Seed Crumble Topping

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!! For my non-Canadian readers, today is when we Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in our great country! So in honour of the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to share my favourite pumpkin dessert recipe! I've been making these pumpkin tarts for a number of years now.. I saw this recipe in the Metro newspaper (the daily commuter paper in Toronto) and have saved the clipping all this time! The original recipe makes about 24 cupcake sized tarts...which I have made in the past...but this time I switched it up and made it into 3 large pumpkin pie/tarts (mostly because rolling and cutting out 24 small pieces of dough turns out to be quite time consuming!)

I will say that I do like the individual cupcake sized tarts a lot, mostly because each bite you get a a good ratio of the delicious home made dough to the soft pumpkin centre! But the large pie size turned out really yummy as well and definitely cut down on the time and effort when it comes to making the pie crust!

And what about the taste??? Well this pumpkin tart is the perfect Thanksgiving dessert... the homemade crust is buttery and crunchy, just the way I like it. And the pumpkin centre is smooth, creamy and perfectly spiced with all the delicious cinnamon and nutmeg! And the topping is probably my favourite part, what better way to make a pumpkin tart crumble topping than with pumpkin seeds! It really adds quite a "gourmet" feel to a simple homemade dessert!

Take a look at the pictures and recipe below and I hope every has a Happy Thanksgiving filled with love, laughter and yummy food!!

Pumpkin Tart Recipe

Makes 3 Large Tarts

For the Pastry Dough:

3 C all purpose flour

1 C sugar

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 C frozen butter

3/4 C ice water

For the Filling:

28 oz can of pumpkin puree

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 C brown sugar

1C melted butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 C all purpose flour

1 tbsp nutmeg*

1 tbsp cinnamon*

1 tsp allspice*

*if you can't get your hand on all of these spices, you can substitute for the same amount of "Pumpkin Spice" spice mixture that they sell in the baking aisle! I've done it before and it turned out great!

For the crumble topping:

1 C all purpose flour

1 C pumpkin seeds

1 C brown sugar

1/2 C melted butter

1. Make the pastry: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, nutmeg, salt. Grate the frozen butter into the mixture and then toss the shards of butter and the flour mixture with your hands until the butter is evenly spread through. Sprinkle the ice water into the mixture to start forming a dough and begin kneading the dough with your hands. Once you've kneaded the dough a few times, roll it into a ball and cut 3 even pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece to fit an 8 inch cake/pie pan, so that there's enough crust to cover up the sides. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of each pie pan and then place the dough on top of the parchment, into the pan, pressing the dough up the sides.

2. Make the filling: Pre-heat the oven to 450 F then add all of the filling ingredients into a large bowl and mix together until smooth. Fill the 3 pie pans with the filling.

3. Make the crumble topping: Add all of the crumble toppings into a medium bowl and stir together until a crumble topping forms. The melted butter will help form the crumble. Top each of the pies with the crumble topping.

4. Bake the pies for about 35-45 minutes, checking for doneness around the 30 minute mark. When the pastry is golden brown and the filling has puffed slightly, it is done! Ready to serve, devour & enjoy with your loved ones at your Thanksgiving table!