Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Puff Pies

Preheat oven to 375° F.

With a hand mixer, whip cream cheese, egg, and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Blend until fully combined.

Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch each puff pastry shell until it is half again as large as the original, striving for an even thickness. ((These shells are designed to puff up high, with a little lift-away cap in the center. Because you don’t want the center to puff up too high, you need to stretch it out and flatten it some.)

Line the cups of a muffin pan with the dough, then spoon approximately 2 tablespoon of the filling into each dough cup until all the filling has been used. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheesecake filling has set and the crusts are a light golden color.

Place on a rack and cool completely in the muffin pan, then transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, melt caramel squares and cream until smooth and somewhat viscous. The mixture should be thick enough to drizzle in streams, but not so thick as to pool after drizzling. Add more cream or some water if necessary to thin the caramel. Stir in the salt.

Drizzle the caramel over the chilled mini pies and serve.