I love a fun twist on a traditional dessert, and these babies were born because of my absolute love of millefeuille (a layered dessert made with puff pastry and pastry cream), and a total fall classic: pumpkin pie. If you’re looking for a vegan dessert recipe for Halloween or Thanksgiving that can be passed around at a party, these pumpkin puffs are perfect!
Delicious (not to mention easy) store bought vegan puff pastry, cut and baked until golden, and then topped with a homemade pumpkin pastry cream that literally takes just a few minutes to make, and then topped with more of that gorgeous flaky pastry. This is one recipe that looks like it took a very long time to make but in fact it’s so much easier than baking a vegan pumpkin pie from scratch.
I love adding some crunchy candied almond or peanut bits on top, and the great thing about this recipe is that you can play around with it until you find the way you love to serve it.
I love them flaky and crispy with that creamy filling, which means as soon as everything has cooled slightly I assemble the puffs and eat them right away. Carlos and my mother-in-law love them soft and chewy, which is achieved by assembling them, and then placing them in an air-tight container in the fridge until you’re ready to eat (in this case they can be made and assembled ahead of time).
These are so scrumptious and versatile, and you can get so creative with the shapes and sizes. 
Although I also love our pumpkin pecan chocolate bars this time of year, and we have a classic pumpkin pie video in our online vegan cookings school, these babies are stunning and utterly delicious and easy to make.
Without further ado, enjoy the printable, video and recipe below!
PDF RECIPE
HALLOWEEN OR THANKSGIVING PUMPKIN PUFFS
Yield: 12-16 puffs | Prep time: 25 minutes | Cook time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
For the pumpkin pastry cream:
- 1/2 a can pumpkin purée
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/16 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/16 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2/3 cup non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder
For assembling the puffs:
- 2 sheets (500 grams / 18 oz in total) of vegan puff pastry
- 1-2 tablespoons small toasted or candied almond bits or peanut bits
- 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
Directions
-
Pre-heat your oven to 400ºF (205ºC) and line a shallow baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
To make your pastry cream, whisk together all the ingredients for it in a medium sized, heavy bottomed pot and bring it to a boil, whisking frequently.
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As soon as it comes up to a boil, lower the heat to medium or medium high and continue cooking it until it thickens, whisking the entire time to prevent it from burning or sticking. Once it has thickened (this should take about 5 minutes or so), remove from the heat and let it cool.
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To bake the puff pastry, cut round shapes from the first sheet of puff pastry using a round cookie cutter and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. These will be the bottoms of the puffs. Bake them in the pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden and puffed.
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Let the first batch of puff bottoms cool and cut the second sheet of puff pastry. Use the same sized cookie cutter you did before, and then a small one to cut a hole in the centre of each disk (almost like a doughnut or ring).
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Place these puff pastry “rings” on the parchment lined baking sheet. (You can also bake the small dots of dough that remain, and serve them as a savory snack to dip in pesto or any other dip you might be serving).
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Brush each of them with the maple syrup or agave, and add the almond or peanut bits on top, pressing them down very lightly.
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Bake them in the oven for 12-14 minutes or until golden and puffed (they will rise less than the first batch). Then let them cool.
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Place your cooled pumpkin pastry cream into a pastry bag (you can also spoon it on the puffs if you prefer).
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Pipe (or spoon) on the pastry cream over the puff bottoms (if you have any that have puffed up too much simply press it into a more levelled shaped using your fingers).
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Top with the puff “rings” and serve!
🧑🍳
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