PREPARATION:

• Heat the oven to 350°F. Rub a 9 x 13” glass baking dish with olive oil. Combine all of
  the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk well. Transfer to the baking dish and spread out. Bake, stirring and scraping the sides and bottom of the dish occasionally at first but more frequently towards the end, until the pumpkin mixture is darkened and thickened, about 1 hour.
• Increase the oven’s heat to 400°F. Arrange parchment paper on two heavy-duty rimmed baking sheets.
• Whisk the egg yolks and cream in a small bowl.
• Sprinkle flour on a rolling surface and lay one pastry sheet over it. With a rolling pin, roll the pastry out so that it is about 12 x 12 inches. Use a 3- or 4-inch round cookie cutter to cut out as many circles of dough as possible and transfer them to the baking sheets. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet.
• Depending on the size of your circles, dollop a generous teaspoon or two of pumpkin filling in the center of each circle of dough. Use your fingers to wet the edges of the dough with water. Fold the dough over to make a half moon and pinch or crimp the edges tightly.
• Brush the hand pies with the yolk-cream mixture and sprinkle with sugar. Use a paring knife to poke a few vent holes in each pie.
• Bake until the pies are well-puffed and deeply golden, about 14 to 16 minutes.
• Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or crème anglaise.

TIP:

• By roasting the sweet pumpkin filling, it takes on a deep, dark, intense flavor, and the consistency thickens.
• Store any leftover filling in the freezer. You can make the hand pies with any kind of pastry dough you like.