Pumpkin Pie Minis with Brown Sugar Whipped Cream and Trick-or-Treat Sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1¼ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir with a fork and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs well. Add ¾ cup evaporated milk (or half and half), ¼ cup maple syrup (or honey, sorghum, cane, or corn syrup), 2 cups pumpkin puree, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Whisk or stir until smooth.
4. Add the reserved sugar-spice mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir thoroughly with a whisk or fork, scraping the bowl often, until the filling is thick and smooth.
5. Cut 2 sheets of piecrust dough into 4-inch circles. Press each circle into a cup of a standard muffin pan, pinching and shaping so the pastry fits snugly and extends slightly above the rim.
6. Pour about ½ cup of the pumpkin filling into each pastry-lined muffin cup. You should have enough for 12 to 16 mini pies.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Place the muffin pans in the oven and bake until the crusts are golden brown and the filling is puffed and set, about 18 to 25 minutes.
8. Transfer the muffin pans to a cooling rack or folded kitchen towel and let the mini pies cool completely to room temperature.
9. While the pies cool, make the whipped cream: In a bowl, whip 1 cup heavy cream at medium-high speed until it thickens and becomes light.
10. Add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and continue beating, scraping the bowl often, until the cream is thick, soft, and fluffy. Beat in ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
11. Dollop the brown sugar whipped cream onto each cooled mini pie. Top with trick-or-treat sprinkles in any combination and amount you like for a festive Halloween look.