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These Jack O’ Lantern Pumpkin Hand Pies are cute and easy! A fun, kid-friendly Halloween dessert.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fred Meyer. The opinions and text are all mine.
You know the saying “Easy as pie”? Well, it is a bit of a deceptive expression. I mean, pie isn’t really that easy, right? But these Jack O’ Lantern Pumpkin Hand Pies? These babies are super easy.
Not to mention adorable. This easy Halloween dessert recipe start with frozen puff pastry – every lazy cook’s secret weapon. Puff pastry can be used a million ways, both savory and sweet. I’ve used it before in the Mushroom and Gruyere Tart and these Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants .
What I loved about using puff pastry here is that it cuts down on prep work and also creates a beautiful, puffed and golden crust. How fun are those little Jack O’ Lantern faces? I picked up the puff pastry and the other ingredients at my local Fred Meyer, as I always do. I also found a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter in their Halloween section.
After whipping together a quick and easy pumpkin pie filling, I got creative with the puff pastry pumpkins. I used the pumpkin cookie cutter to cut the puff pastry into shapes. Then, with half of them, I used a sharp knife to carve Jack O’ Lantern faces. A quick google image search will give you tons of inspiration for different types of faces. It is easier to cut the shapes out of the puff pastry when it is colder, so keep the ones you aren’t working on in the freezer so they don’t get to warm. After an egg wash and a sprinkling of spiced sugar, the Jack O’ Lantern pies go into the oven for a quick 15 minutes. They come out puffed, golden and totally delicious!
Jack O' Lantern Pumpkin Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 4 sheets puff pastry
- 1 cup pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice See my make your own recipe HERE
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon half and half
Instructions
- If frozen, set out puff pastry sheets to slightly thaw, up to 40 minutes. They should remain cold but be pliable enough to roll out.
- Preheat oven to 400°F degrees
- Mix together the 2 tablespoons of granulated and 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin pie spice, set aside.
- Mix together the pumpkin puree, 1 whole egg, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, the vanilla, salt and half and half. Whisk until well combined, set aside.
- Roll out the puff pastry sheets so they are about 13 inches long (big enough to do 3 rows of pumpkins). Use a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to cut the puff pastry into pumpkin shapes. Place 12 of the puff pastry pumpkins on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.Use a small, sharp knife to cut out Jack O' Lantern faces in the remaining 12 pumpkins. Use a rolling pin and roll over each Jack O' Lantern once or twice to make it just slightly larger than the bottom pumpkin.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin pie mixture onto the center of each pumpkin bottom. Use your finger to brush the edge of the puff pastry with water. Carefully set the Jack O' Lantern Pumpkin on top, lining it up with the pumpkin on the bottom. Use your finger to gently press together the edges of the pumpkins.
- Whisk the egg yolk with one tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash over the tops of the pastries. Sprinkle with the sugar and spice mixture.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the pumpkins are puffed and golden.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use pie dough instead? Making this with a bunch of preschoolers!
Thanks
Hi – I haven’t tried it but I think it would be fine! Pie dough won’t puff up like puff pastry does, and I would be sure to crimp the edges with a fork. The cooking time might also change.
Mine didn’t turn out half as cute as these, but we loved them. Even if they are a bit scarier than intended. 😆
I made these today. They came out very cute. I only added half of the cream and the pumpkin filling was not too watery. I also feel that it needs more than a tablespoon of pumpkin filling. That being said maybe my cookie cutter was bigger than what was used. All in all the kids love them
Glad you liked them Carol!
Can these be frozen?
Hi – I haven’t tried to freeze them so I can’t be sure!
I love this idea! Thank you for sharing!
As i’m making these I find that the mixture is very thin. I followed the recipe exactly and there is no way i’m going to be able to place the mixture on the pastry without ir spilling everywhere. Is there something i can do to fix it?
Hi Mathew, the mixture does seem a bit watery, but for me the puff pastry held it in so it didn’t overflow. If it is so watery that it is spilling everywhere, you could try adding a little more pumpkin puree to thicken it up. However, there isn’t much liquid in it, so it really shouldn’t be that watery. If you carefully place about a tablespoon in the center, place the top over it and then gently press the edges together,that should work. Let me know how they turn out!
I SO love this idea!! How clever to bring all these unique, cute pumpkin-faces into delicious little cookies~~🎃
I can’t wait to try this recipe~👌🏽🎃🌻