hello kitty pumpkin pie

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only a week and a half away! What better time than to make this adorable Hello Kitty pumpkin pie? While I've made this pie several times (and even have made it into little mini pumpkin tartlets, like these Hello Kitty strawberry rhubarb ones), somehow this is the first time I'm sharing it! You can also find it in my new book, The Hello Kitty Baking Book!

I start with a delicious, buttery, flaky crust, tucked into a 9-inch tart pan.

After using a rolling pin to cut off off the excess crust, I made a quick pumpkin pie filling, with just the right amount of spice, and baked the pie until just done in the center.

To decorate, I rolled out the excess pie dough scraps and cut out little Hello Kitty shapes with a cookie cutter, then baked them until golden.

Then place them on top of your baked pumpkin pie, and you have yourself one adorable pie! You can find this recipe and all new photos in my new book, The Hello Kitty Baking Book!

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

hello kitty strawberry rhubarb tartlets

What do you get when it's rhubarb season and you're at my house?  Lots and lots of rhubarb tarts!  This time I combined the Hello Kitty strawberry rhubarb tart from my last post, with another recent post on strawberry rhubarb tartlets, and so I made Hello Kitty strawberry rhubarb tartlets!

For the crust, I again made an all-butter pie crust, and divided the dough into 6 equal portions.  Then I  rolled each portion into a circle and carefully lined each tartlet pan.  After running my rolling pin over the top of each tartlet (to cut off the excess dough), I wrapped the extra dough in saran wrap and put it in my fridge, which I would use to make the Hello Kitty cut outs later on.

For the filling, I chopped rhubarb and strawberries into same sized chunks, and then tossed them with sugar, flour, and a pinch of salt.

After filling each tart pan to the top, I used the extra pie crust dough and a small Hello Kitty cookie cutter to cut out my shapes for the tops of the tart.

After brushing the tops with egg wash and dusting them with sanding sugar, they were ready for the oven!  I baked them at 350F for about 50 minutes, until they were golden brown.

My favorite way to eat these was to take bites all the way around the perimeter of the tartlet, so that I was left with just the Hello Kitty piece at the end, which I would pop in my mouth for the last bite!  Yum!

*** Update:
You can now find my recipe for Hello Kitty Strawberry Rhubarb Tartlets in my new book, "The Hello Kitty Baking Book"! Enjoy!

hello kitty strawberry rhubarb tart

After making the strawberry rhubarb mini tarts in a recent post, I decided to make one large strawberry rhubarb tart, with a twist - I wanted to use the extra pie crust dough to decorate the top of the tart with Hello Kitty!

So I made an all-butter pie crust, rolled it out, and carefully lined a 9-inch tart pan with the dough.  Then I rolled my rolling pin over the top of the tart pan to cut off the excess dough, and wrapped the extra dough in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for later.

For the filling, I again chopped rhubarb and strawberries into same-size pieces, then tossed them with sugar, flour, and a pinch of salt.

Then I filled my prepared tart pan with the strawberry rhubarb mixture, using a spatula to push the mixture out to the sides of the pan.

Next, I took my extra pie crust dough out of the fridge, rolled it out, and cut out a few Hello Kitty shapes with a cookie cutter.  Aren't they cute? :)

I only had enough extra dough for four Hello Kitty shapes, which I arranged on top of the tart.

Finally I used egg wash to brush on top of the Hello Kitty shapes and exposed pie crust, and then sprinkled on some sanding sugar.  Then I popped it in the oven and let it bake for almost an hour.  Once it was done and the crust was golden brown, I took it out and resisted the urge to cut into it right away, otherwise all the beautiful juices would flow out!  So I let it cool before cutting into it.

And there you have it.  Flaky crust, tart rhubarb, and juicy sweet strawberries, and all topped with Hello Kitty!  A perfect combination if you ask me!

*** Update:
You can now find my recipe for Hello Kitty Strawberry Rhubarb Tart in my new book, "The Hello Kitty Baking Book"! Enjoy!

hello kitty pocket pies

After making heart-shaped pocket pies for Valentine's Day last week, it dawned on me that I could make pocket pies in any shape I wanted!  I could just use large cookie cutters to cut out the shape, and a fork to crimp the edges - no pocket pie mold required!  So I made Hello Kitty pocket pies.  (You must have noticed my slight obsession with Hello Kitty by now -see my Hello Kitty cake, another cake, cupcakes, mini cupcakes, ice cream cake, and cake pops!)

Using my largest Hello Kitty cookie cutter, I cut out pie crust for the tops and bottoms of the pies, then filled them with my apple pie filling (diced apples, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ground cloves).

The eyes, nose and bow served as my steam vents (so that the crust wouldn't get soggy during baking).  After crimping the edges with a fork, brushing with egg wash, and sprinkling some sandling sugar on top, I baked them at 400 F for 20 minutes.  And out came Hello Kitty apple pie!

I made a couple of these for my friend Hsing to give to her daughter Avery (she just turned 6!), and I also made a couple for my friend Karyn in exchange for an adorable clippie (check out her handmade clippies at Zoette Boutique!).  I also froze a couple so that I could bake them off whenever we want apple pie.

I can't wait to try making pocket pies with other shapes too! (Although nothing beats Hello Kitty!)

*** Update:
You can now find my recipe for Hello Kitty Pocket Apple Pie and Pocket Pies in my new book, "The Hello Kitty Baking Book"! Enjoy!