Description
These Jack O’ Lantern Pumpkin Hand Pies are adorable, flaky pastries filled with a spiced pumpkin puree mixture, perfect for a festive Halloween treat that’s both kid-friendly and delicious.
Ingredients
Scale
Puff Pastry
- 4 sheets puff pastry
Pumpkin Filling
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 whole egg
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (divided)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon half and half
Egg Wash and Topping
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Prepare Puff Pastry: If frozen, set out puff pastry sheets to slightly thaw for up to 40 minutes. Keep them cold but pliable enough to roll out.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C) to ensure it’s hot and ready for baking the pies.
- Mix Sugar and Spice Topping: Combine 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl; set aside for later sprinkling.
- Make Pumpkin Filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, 1 whole egg, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, salt, and half and half until smooth and well combined; set aside.
- Cut Puff Pastry Shapes: Roll out puff pastry sheets to about 13 inches long to fit 3 rows of pumpkins. Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out 24 pumpkin shapes from the dough. Arrange 12 pumpkin shapes on two parchment-lined baking sheets as the bottom layers.
- Create Jack O’ Lantern Tops: Use a small, sharp knife to carefully cut out Jack O’ Lantern faces on the remaining 12 pumpkin shapes. Lightly roll each cut-out pumpkin shape once or twice with a rolling pin to make it slightly larger than the bottom piece.
- Assemble Pies: Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin filling onto the center of each bottom pumpkin shape. Brush the edges with water using your finger, then gently place the Jack O’ Lantern top over the filling, aligning edges carefully. Press edges gently to seal.
- Apply Egg Wash and Sprinkle: Whisk together egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush this egg wash over the tops of the pies. Sprinkle the prepared sugar and spice mixture evenly over the fronts.
- Bake: Bake pies in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the pastries are puffed, golden, and cooked through.
- Cool and Serve: Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving these festive pumpkin hand pies.
Notes
- These Jack O’ Lantern Pumpkin Hand Pies are both cute and easy to make, making them an ideal Halloween dessert to involve kids in baking.
- Ensure the puff pastry remains cold until ready to roll for best puff and flakiness.
- Use fresh pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, to control sweetness and spice.
- If you don’t have a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, you can improvise with a knife or other fall-themed shapes.
- For extra flavor, you can add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg to the pumpkin filling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Pie
- Calories: 501 kcal
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 261 mg
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 22 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
