Pumpkin Pasties

Pumpkin pasties are my absolute favorite thing to make from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook! Which means we're finally back to food items that I can successfully make! Yay! Just in case you forgot (even though you've seen the sentence four times now), here is where we currently are on Harry Potter's journey:

"What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life" (Sorcerer's Stone 101).

Technically the recipe in Dinah Bucholz' book is for Cypress Pasties, which are basically little individual pumpkin pies (and are also super delicious). I've always wanted to make up a recipe for more Cornish-style pumpkin pasties, but that would involve a pumpkin, which are definitely not in season. Someday I'll do that, but for now--

For the Crust, You Will Need:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 Tbs granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

5 Tbs cold butter, cut into chunks

3 Tbs vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into chunks

4-6 Tbs ice water

For the Filling, You Will Need:

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Note: Every time I've made these, I've always had filling leftover. Even when I've doubled the dough recipe. So don't worry if you seem to have too much filling.

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. You can use a bowl and electric mixer if you want, but the food processor makes it SO easy!

2. Scatter the butter and shortening over the flour mixer and pulse about 15 times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with no white powdery bits.

3. Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle 4 Tbs cold water over the mixture and toss together with a spatula (or your hands) until it starts clumping together. If it's too dry, add more water 1 Tbs at a time (better too wet than too dry).

4. Gather the dough into a ball and pat into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap (or put in a gallon ziploc bag) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or overnight).

5. Combine the pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Mix well.

6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

7. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/8" thick. Use a saucer or the mouth of a mug or small bowl as a guide to cut out 6" circles.

8. Put 2-3 Tbs of filling in the center of each circle (that much has never fit into my circles!) of dough. 

9. Moisten the dough circle edges with water, fold the dough over the filling, and crimp the edges with a fork to seal the edges. Cut slits to make vents.

10. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 30 minutes or until browned.

They're super delicious! I hope you enjoy them while imagining your speeding along on the Hogwarts Express!