Pumpkin Pie Pops and Sunflowers

Well, even though it's not technically fall yet, I can't help but usher it in as soon as September hits.  It just feels fallish.
To celebrate the season, I thought I would try my hand at making Pumpkin Pie Pops:)  I've seen pie pops all around the blogosphere and fell in love with them immediately:)
They're simple to make, taste great, and look cute!

My husband and I spent a good part of last Saturday driving through See Canyon (apple farms) and making a trip to Jack Creek Farms in Paso Robles. It was a beautiful day and at the farm I bought the perfect filling for the pie pops...

...all natural Pumpkin Spice Fruit Butter!  You could actually just eat it directly from the jar and call it good:)  I was going to bake up some pumpkin pie filling and add it to the pops, but this was so much easier!  I also grated  fresh nutmeg(above) and sprinkled it(with sugar) on the top of the pops before baking.  If you've never grated fresh nutmeg, I highly recommend it!  It smells so fresh and heavenly. Recipe at end of post.

This is just the right size snack for kids, and portion control for adults (unless you eat four of them!):)  They would be great to grab-and-go and bring along on a picnic.

And if you dress them up a bit by adding ribbon, they would make a fun little hostess gift for the holidays...just wrap a few in cellophane, tie it with a ribbon and voila! Or place them in a jar with a ribbon:)
Recipe is included at the end of this post.

 When we made it up to Jack Creek Farms we were greeted by these wonderful sunflowers.  I LOVE sunflowers!  They are my favorite flowers! Don't they just look happy?  I love, too, that they are relatively easy to grow and you can almost see it happen before your very eyes.

Isn't this one just perfect?!?

All that's missing is smiley faces:)                                                  

Pumpkin Pie Pops
Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts (14.1 oz. box)
Pumpkin filling (pumpkin butter, custard, cooked pie filling,  pudding...)
Sugar
Nutmeg, grated
popsicle sticks

Unroll the pie crust  and cut out mini crusts with 2 1/2"  round biscuit cutter.  Place one round crust on baking sheet and place popsicle stick down on the round about halfway up. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of filling in middle of each round crust, and spread around a little, but keep the filling away from the edges.  Place the other round on top of the first and seal the edges by pressing down with a fork all the way around. (I actually poked pie vents in the top of each too.) Sprinkle with the grated nutmeg/sugar mixture. Place the baking sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven and  bake for about 10 min. until edges are browned.  Makes 12-16 pops.

Welcome fall!

This post is linked up to "Tasty Tuesdays Bloghop" at A Beautiful Mess..Have a look at all the tasty links:)