Adorable Pumpkin Hand Pies are the perfect treat to celebrate the fall season and Halloween. Made with the easiest homemade pastry crust ever (seriously!).
Yield:
20 pies
Prep Time:30minutes
Cook:25minutes
Tessa's Recipe Rundown...
Taste: Mild pumpkin spice flavor that makes you wish fall lasted all year long. Texture: The pastry is flaky and tender, while the filling is rich and smooth. Ease: This pastry is ridiculously easy, even kids could get involved making these! Pros: Simple and festive homemade treat! Cons: None. Would I make this again? Definitely this time next year!
Pumpkin season is officially upon us and I could not be more excited. No matter how basic that makes me.
I’ve got my favorite Pumpkin Soufflé candle from Anthropologie burning right now and at least three pumpkin recipes in the pipeline that I’ll be sharing this season.
To me, there’s nothing more comforting than both the aroma and flavor of pumpkin and warm spices. I almost feel bad for those people who don’t like pumpkin. They really are missing out.
It would only be appropriate that the first pumpkin recipe I share this fall is for these adorable pumpkin hand pies. Especially as we head into October and Halloween!
I used a larger and a smaller pumpkin shaped cookie cutter set to cut out pumpkin shapes from the pastry dough. Then I placed a small dollop of filling on each of the bottom pieces of dough. Be careful not to overfill these! I used my paring knife to slice cute jack-o-lantern designs or lines to accentuate the gourd shape on that top piece of dough.
Feel free to get creative here with your shapes and decorations! The dough is pretty much a dream to work with so it makes the process actually enjoyable. It’s the perfect Halloween baking project!
If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and tag me and #handletheheat on Instagram.
Adorable Pumpkin Hand Pies are the perfect treat to celebrate the fall season and Halloween. Made with the easiest homemade pastry crust ever (seriously!).
Ingredients
For the dough:
1cupwater
1 1/2sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter
3tablespoonsgranulated sugar
1 1/2teaspoonsfine salt
1/2teaspoonground cinnamon
2 3/4cups(350 grams) flour
For the filling:
1/2cup(122 grams) pumpkin puree
1/4cup(57 grams) sour cream
1large eggbeaten
1/4cup(50 grams) light brown sugar
1/4teaspooncinnamon
1/8teaspoonnutmeg
1/8teaspooncloves
For the egg wash:
1large egg
1teaspoonwater
Directions
Make the dough:
Heat the water and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until butter has melted. Add in the sugar, salt, and flour. Remove from heat and stir with a wooden spoon until a wet and oily dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Make the filling:
In a large bowl beat all of the filling ingredients together until smooth.
Assemble and bake:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl combine the egg and water to make an egg wash.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/8-inch thickness. Using a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, cut out shapes.
In half of the pumpkin shapes, cut 3 vertical slits or triangle “eyes” for decorative effect. These will become the tops of the pies.
Place 2 tablespoons filling onto each bottom pumpkin shape, leaving a border around the edge. Use more or less filling depending on the size of your pumpkin shapes, being careful not to overfill. Lightly brush the border with the egg wash. Place the top over each bottom, pressing the edges to seal the filling inside.
Make ahead: At this point the unbaked pies can be covered and refrigerated for 1 day. They can also be frozen and baked straight from the freezer, just add about 3 minutes to the baking time.
Brush the tops of the pies with the remaining egg wash. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool before serving.
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
About Tessa...
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
The pastry was interesting, as I’ve never made pastry using melted butter. The dough was a little tricky to handle cuz it got soft very fast, but it was a bit easier to roll out than a normal short crust, and cooked surprisingly well. I wouldn’t use this for a pie per se, but it was fine for hand pies. The filling was a bit too liquidy and tricky to manage with cut out pumpkin faces so we opted to just do enclosed pumpkin shapes instead. Overall pretty good.
These came out pretty well. But, I am making them to bring to Thanksgiving in two days. What’s the best way to store them? Or, should I have made them only the day of?
Great filling recipe, just what I was looking for, thank you!
I’ve been on a hand pie “kick” lately and wanted to make pumpkin, but wasn’t sure how to approach it, because when I make a regular pumpkin pie, the custard filling is completely liquid when I put it in the shell and sets up over an hour of baking, which obviously wouldn’t work for a hand pie. I was thinking of cooking the custard on the stovetop before filling the handpies, but your recipe is quick, easy, and delicious, so I don’t need to bother with the extra step. I will definitely be trying some more of your recipes!
As a trained chef and cookbook author, I share trusted baking recipes your friends & family will love alongside insights into the science of sweets. I help take the luck out of baking so you *always* have delicious results! Learn more here.
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The pastry was interesting, as I’ve never made pastry using melted butter. The dough was a little tricky to handle cuz it got soft very fast, but it was a bit easier to roll out than a normal short crust, and cooked surprisingly well. I wouldn’t use this for a pie per se, but it was fine for hand pies. The filling was a bit too liquidy and tricky to manage with cut out pumpkin faces so we opted to just do enclosed pumpkin shapes instead. Overall pretty good.
These came out pretty well. But, I am making them to bring to Thanksgiving in two days. What’s the best way to store them? Or, should I have made them only the day of?
Great filling recipe, just what I was looking for, thank you!
I’ve been on a hand pie “kick” lately and wanted to make pumpkin, but wasn’t sure how to approach it, because when I make a regular pumpkin pie, the custard filling is completely liquid when I put it in the shell and sets up over an hour of baking, which obviously wouldn’t work for a hand pie. I was thinking of cooking the custard on the stovetop before filling the handpies, but your recipe is quick, easy, and delicious, so I don’t need to bother with the extra step. I will definitely be trying some more of your recipes!
Testing star rating transfer
Hi,Tessa
This hand pies is really looking so good. Just saved it for trying it soon. Thanks for putting it together 🙂
Great idea Tessa. I was looking for new ideas for Halloween baking.
These are so stinkin’ cute!
Thank you, Erica!