Pumpkin Pasties

Ok, stop with the jokes, you Americans you, I can already hear it. But, according to my next-cube neighbor Roy, the word is pronounced pass-tees not paste-ees. Apparently pumpkin pasties are a favorite of Harry Potter, but who wouldn't like these little pumpkin pies - perfect with tea - except maybe Roy, who is not a big pumpkin fan. This recipe from the blog Diamonds for Dessert also has a recipe for the more familiar Cornish pasties.

When I first saw these little turnovers, I thought how hard could that be? Wrap some pumpkin puree in pie dough, bake it and call it a day, but the recipe is more developed than that. You bake the pumpkin filling first so it has a pie filling-like consistency and then cook the pasties only until the crust is done - genius. According to Wikipedia, Cornish pasties have been around since the 1500s, so British cooks have had some time to perfect the recipe.