Personal Pumpkin Pies

Oh my goodness! It was FREEZING out today! My heater actually automatically kicked on around 2:00 today, so I know for a fact that my house dipped below 65 degrees. Don't get me wrong; I am not complaining. I have been sick of the heat waves for a long time and I welcome the chill of autumn. This is, in my opinion, the best time of the year. I love feeling guilt-free when I fire up my old oven. I was browsing the internet for Halloween and Thanksgiving ideas and came across this really cute idea for mini pumpkin pie bites at Bakeralla.com that I wanted to share with everyone. Unfortunately, I do not have a mini muffin pan (which I will invest in shortly), so I decided to use my regular-sized muffin pan instead and allow them to bake for a bit longer. I love how you can shape the personal pies easily into pumpkins and decorate them. Aren't they cute?

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust, unbaked
  
• 1 can Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can evaporated milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  
• Roll out the pie crust to 1/4-inch thickness. Grease a muffin pan (or use liners). Using a glass a little larger than the muffin holders, press down and cut out 12 circles. Place the dough circles in the muffin pan. Use the scraps to make the pumpkin stems.
  
• In a small bowl, mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon and ginger.
  
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
  
• Ladle the pumpkin mixture into the pie shells until they are full.
  
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean between the edge and center of each personal pumpkin pie.
  
• Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
  
• Decorate, if desired.
  
• ENJOY!