Pumpkin Pie Purse

Sometimes I find myself with odd amounts of ingredients.  I had leftover pumpkin puree from a pasta dish I had made previously, but it wasn't enough to make a whole pie.  I also had some puff pastry from a dinner that was supposed to be a Guinness steak and cheese pie, but ended up being stew due to me forgetting to take the puff pastry out of the freezer. -_-  I wanted to make a dessert with the pumpkin, and I wasn't sure what to do with the puff pastry.  I decided to try to make a pumpkin purse of sorts.

I like the idea of fruit purse type desserts, but the last time I had one it was quite disappointing.  The taste was good, but there wasn't much apple at all for the amount of pastry present.  Considering I paid $4 for it, I was pretty annoyed.  With this, I wanted to make sure there was a decent amount of pumpkin in the center.  I have a very small casserole dish that my mom gave me.  It must be 4 inches wide and about 3 inches or so deep.  It was perfect for this, and I ended up with a dessert that could make 4 moderately sized portions or two larger sized portions.

The bake time is approximate.  I set it for 25 minutes originally, and then kept incrementing the time up as I checked it to see if it was done.  The total bake time was probably close to 40 minutes, but I advise you keep a close eye on it past 30 to make sure all is going well.

Pumpkin Pie Purse

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg - lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
• 1 tbsp buttermilk (heavy cream or regular milk will also work)
• 1 sheet of puff pastry- thawed if frozen
• Flour for rolling the puff pastry out
• Honey for brushing the top - optional

Directions:

1. Lightly flour the surface of a board or counter.  Spread puff pastry sheet out on the floured surface, and sprinkle a little flour on the sheet itself.
2. Using a floured rolling pin, large bottle, or large glass roll the pastry sheet out slightly so it will be thinner.
3. Cut the pastry sheet in half.
4. Lightly flour a small (approximately 4 inches) casserole dish or baking pan.
5. Carefully place one half of the pastry sheet in the casserole dish with the extra part hanging over the sides.  Carefully place the other half perpendicular to the other pastry sheet (think of a plus sign +).  Keep the sides of both sheets hanging out, and lightly press them together and make sure no part of the inside of the dish is exposed (no pumpkin leaks!).
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Mix the pumpkin with both of the sugars, the egg, cinnamon, and seasoning.  Stir until well combined.  The mixture will be visibly lighter in color than the original puree.
8. Spoon the mixture into puff pastry.
9. Fold one end of the pastry over the mixture.  Use a little water on the end of the next fold to make them stick together.  Repeat until the folds cover the pastry.  Use a little water to make sure the purse is sealed.
10. Brush surface with a little honey if desired.
11. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, checking at the 35 minute mark to make sure the pastry is puffing and turning golden.  The purse will be done when the pastry is puffed, flaky looking, and lightly browned/golden.

Serves 2 to 4