Last week I discovered the winter squashes in our "above-ground root cellar" were beginning to rot, so I baked the remaining nine in the course of three days, ran it all through the Foley food mill (mentioned previously, too), and froze it for later use.

This was about 5 squashes-worth.

It amounted to 17 cups of squash.

Shortly after the Squash Operation, my son rescued my computer from a near-disaster involving spilled tea (yes, I should know better) so I told him I owed him a pie or something, preferably involving pureed squash, since I had so much of it on hand. He suggested tarts, since I was low on graham crackers for a pumpkin chiffon pie crust.

Using my favorite Betty Crocker pie crust recipe, I made enough dough for a 9" two-crust pie, and rolled it all out at once.

Betty Crocker Pie Crust

(8- or 9-Inch Two-Crust Pie)

• 2 cups all-purpose four
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup lard (or 2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons shortening)
• 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Measure flour and salt into bowl. Cut in lard (or shortening) thoroughly. Sprinkle in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until all flour is moistened and dough almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons water can be added if needed).

Divide dough in half. Gather each half into ball; shape into flattened round on lightly-floured cloth-covered board. With floured stockinet-covered rolling pin, roll each dough round 2 inches larger than inverted pie pan. Fold pastry into quarters; unfold and ease into pan.

Turn desired filling into pastry-lined pie pan. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of pan. Roll second round of dough. Fold into quarters, cut slits so steam can escape. Place over filling and unfold. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of pan. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; pinch edge into a V shape with fingers to flute.

After the lard had been cut in, it looked like this.

The dough rolled out quite well this time!

The tart shell details were found in my favorite pie cookbook, Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook. Following those directions, I measured up the sides and across the top of my muffin tin cups, found a bowl of that diameter, and used it to cut circles of pie crust.

The directions said to use every other muffin cup...

...so I had to get out two more pans. The diameter of the cups was a little smaller for those pans, so I found a slightly smaller biscuit cutter to use for those tarts.

Folding the dough around the cups and making pleats to fit was a bit tricky, especially since my rolled-out dough was not equally thick throughout. When I gathered up the leftovers and rolled it out again, it didn't behave as nicely as the first time. But I managed to eke out twelve tart shells, and refrigerated them for 30 minutes as directed. I overlooked the instructions to use a fork to prick the shells. Oops.

Here they are, chilling in the fridge as directed.

After baking the tart shells and letting them cool, I had the challenging task of seeing how well they came off the muffin tins. One broke, and another had holes in the bottom, so I couldn't use them. As you can see, the tart shells got much browner on the non-stick pan than on the aluminum pan.

They looked like this after I removed them from the muffins tins and turned them right side up. The two on the left are the ones that got messed up.

The filling recipe I used is in the same cookbook as the tarts details, and is the same recipe I have used for years to make Pumpkin Chiffon Pie, which I am sure I have posted about before, but I can't find the link now.

Farm Journal Pumpkin Chiffon Tarts (or Pie)

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 3 eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup milk (or milk alternative)
• 1-1/4 cup canned pumpkin (or other winter squash)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Combine gelatin, brown sugar, salt, and spice in saucepan. Combine egg yolks and milk; stir into gelatin mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat; add pumpkin. Chill mixture until it mounds slightly when dropped from spoon. Test frequently for mounding stage.

Beat egg whites until frothy; add sugar and beat until glossy, stiff peaks form.

Fold pumpkin mixture into egg whites. Spoon into tart shells (or single pie crust). Chill until firm. Serve topped with whipped cream and/or caramel sauce. Makes about 12 (3") tarts.

A third tart shell broke when I tried to fill it, leaving me with enough extra filling for three tarts. So I divided it into three small prep bowls and we ate it as pudding.

The final product was very tasty, and a little whipped topping finished it off beautifully.

If I was going to make tarts frequently, I would probably invest in a proper tart shell pan. But for something I will likely only make once in a while, the muffin tins worked well enough. The recipe book also has a suggestion for using circles of aluminum foil, so I might try that another time.

All photos taken on my Android phone.