Halloween spider pumpkin mini pies

I love all that fun stuff you find in shops and supermarkets during  the lead up to Halloween. I love those little creepy spiders, funky witches hats and white Dracula teeth. So much fun for our little ones. But the real fun for me really is in the kitchen. As always.

Recently I stumbled across some cute spider pies over at Not Martha. I thought it was a genius idea, excellent for a Halloween themed dinner party.

If I have to be honest I am not keen on meat pies and I’d rather opt for a vegetarian option. I have changed the filling and used an organic pumpkin I bought at the farmers market recently. I cooked it until very soft (it was so sweet!), mashed it and mixed it with soft cheese and grated nutmeg.

After making up the spider with puff pastry (and that was fairly straightforward) I sprinkled poppy seeds to make the spider look more realistic and to give the pastry an extra crunchy bite.

How was it? The spiders looked cute and creepy on the table and the pastry combined with the spiced pumpkin puree was delicious. I loved it and it was a huge hit with my children.

A perfect appetizer for your Halloween meal.

• Prep Time : 30 minutes
• Cook Time : 15 minutes

Ingredients

• puff pastry sheet – 1
• soft cheese (like philadelphia) – 50 g
• cooked pumpkin – 500 g
• grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• chopped parsley – 1 tbsp
• poppy seeds – to sprinkle
• egg – 1
• cloves, peas or pepper corns – for the eyes
• ramekins – 4

Instructions

Peel the pumpkin remove the seeds, cut it into pieces and steam it until soft. This will take about 20 minutes.

Mash the pumpkin, mix it with the chopped parsley, add the cheese, the grated nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Cut the pastry sheet and make long strips about 10 cm long and 1cm wide. You will use this to make the legs. You will need 32 legs for 4 ramekins.

Pour the filling into the ramekins. Let it cool down then arrange the strips of pastry on the pie pressing them onto the ramekin.

Make two small balls one bigger than the other and create your spider. Make the eyes using cloves, pepper corns or peas would be good too. Whip the egg with a fork and brush the spiders with it then sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Cook at 190C for 15 minutes until golden. Make sure you don’t burn the legs as they cook quicker!

Serve warm

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