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Halloween Hand Pies

Time: 1 hour
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There’s no better way to celebrate October than with spooky Halloween Hand Pies. They’re flaky, buttery, and filled with some delicious fillings.

We have screaming ghosts filled with blueberry, carved pumpkins filled with pumpkin, and gruesome mummies filled with cherry. Make just one, or make them all!

If you’re still buying store-bought pie dough, you need to try my fool-proof Vodka Butter Pie Crust. That’s what I use and recommend.

Hand pies on a plate ready to eat. They are in the shapes of pumpkins, ghosts, and mummies.

These Halloween Hand Pies are not just adorable, they’re absolutely delicious too. And trust me, once you try these you’ll never look at store-bought hand pies the same way again.

You can whip up a batch for a Halloween party, pack them in the kids’ lunchboxes for a fun surprise, or just enjoy them yourself as a festive treat. Plus, they’re a fun activity to make with the family. Who doesn’t love playing with their food, especially when it’s this spooky and tasty?

Pair your Halloween Hand Pies with a Witches Brew Mocktail or a Black Magic Mocktail.

Halloween Hand Pies on a cooling rack. There are mummies, pumpkins, and ghosts.

Ingredients for Halloween Hand Pies

This recipe is so easy, all you need is pie dough, pie fillings, an egg, and a simple glaze. Keep reading for what I used, kitchen equipment, and a few notes too.

  • Pie Dough: You’ve got to use my homemade pie crust recipe (or your own). It’ll be lighter, flakier, and have more flavor. But you can use store-bought if you’re cramped on time or don’t want to mess with homemade.
  • Egg: The yolk is used in the pumpkin hand pies and the egg white is used to egg wash the dough so it bakes up a golden brown.
  • For the Pumpkins: You’ll need a pumpkin cookie cutter, pumpkin pie puree, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and the egg yolk.
  • For the Ghosts: Grab a ghost cookie cutter, a round piping tip, and blueberry pie filling.
  • For the Mummies: Use an egg shaped cookie cutter (or a round one), cherry pie filling, and candy eyes.
  • For the Glaze: This gets put in the ghosts and mummies. You’ll need powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, and a small brush for painting on the glaze.

You’ll also need a rolling pin, a sharp knife, and parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Ingredients. 2 nine inch pie crusts, cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, pumpkin pie filling, an egg, and candy eyes. There's a pumpkin cookie cutter, ghost cookie cutter, and round cookie cutter too.

How to Make Halloween Hand Pies

Here’s a super quick overview of the steps, just so you have an idea of what these Halloween Hand Pies entail. The recipe card at the bottom will have complete details and instructions.

1. Cutting and creating the shapes. You’ll start by rolling out the pie dough and cutting out your pumpkin, ghosts, and mummies. Half of the pumpkins will need faces carved with a sharp knife and half of the ghosts will need eyes and mouths created with a piping tip.

2. Refrigerate the pie dough scraps. We will use the leftover pie dough to complete the mummies. So roll the leftovers into a ball and place in the refrigerator to stiffen up a bit.

3. Fill the hand pies. Place the uncarved shapes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Top the pumpkins with pumpkin pie filling, the ghosts with blueberry pie filling, and the mummies with cherry pie filling.

4. Top the hand pies. Place the carved shapes on top of the ghosts and pumpkins then crimp the outside edge using a fork. Re-roll out the pie dough scraps and cut into thin long strips and lay them over the filled mummies to create a bandage look. Use the cookie cutter to cut around the mummies and remove excess dough, then crimp the edges with your fork.

5. Freeze for 10 minutes prior to baking. This freeze time will solidify the butter in the crust and prevent shrinking or spillage of the fillings.

6. Bake the hand pies. Lightly brush the egg wash on the dough portion of the pies and place in the oven. Bake them for 15 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. There’s a large time spread because store-bought dough will bake faster than homemade dough, and the thickness makes a difference as well.

7. Glaze and let the Halloween Hand Pies cool. Once the hand pies have finished baking you will want to immediately brush glaze on the mummies and ghosts. After 10 minutes you can put eyes on the mummies and place the hand pies on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Storing and Freezing Your Hand Pies

Your Halloween Hand Pies need to be stored in an airtight container or they will dry out. They can be kept at room temperature and in a cool, dry place for up to 5 days. Or you can refrigerate them for up to 9 days and reheat in the microwave before you want to eat them.

You can also freeze un-baked hand pies in a sealable bag for up to 3 months. I host a Halloween party every year and make these a week before the party, freeze them, and bake them the morning of my party. It’s a great way to get ahead and prep. This might also be a great option for baking hand pies 1 or 2 at a time for October/ Halloween season dessert.

A pumpkin hand pie leaning against a glass of apple cider and more hand pies in the background.

Recipe Tips You Need To Read

Always work with cold pie dough. There’s nothing worse for a flaky pie (and more difficult) than room temperature pie dough. Your dough should be cold when you roll it out and as you are making the faces.

Freeze the hand pies before baking. Freezing them for 10 minutes re-hardens the butter in the pie dough and keeps these light and flaky once they bake. Also, it keeps them from shrinking!

Don’t swap the heavy whipping cream in the glaze. Because of the fat content in heavy whipping cream, the glaze beautifully sticks to the hand pies (even when they are hot). If you swap it for milk the glaze will run right off and become a mess.

Plate of hand pies in the shapes of pumpkins, ghosts, and mummies with candy eyes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Can I use other pie fillings?

If you’re not a fan of the pie fillings I used, no problem! Customize your Halloween Hand Pies for flavors you like or make homemade versions. Just make sure your fillings are thick and you follow the instructions as written.


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Enjoy Entirely, Elizabeth
Halloween Hand Pies on a plate ready to eat. They are in the shapes of pumpkins, ghosts, and mummies.

Halloween Hand Pies

Elizabeth Swoish
Flaky hand pies in three spooky Halloween shapes: boo berry ghosts, pumpkin jack-o'-lanterns, and cherry-filled mummies. They're great for parties, Trick-or-Treating, or spooky movie night.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
FREEZER TIME 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Servings 16 hand pies

EQUIPMENT

  • 2 baking sheet - parchment lined
  • cookie cutters - pumpkin, ghost, and egg/ round shaped
  • piping tip - round, for ghost mouth and eyes
  • sharp knife - for pumpkin faces and cutting mummy strips
  • pastry brush - for brushing on egg wash
  • paint brush - small, for painting on glaze

INGREDIENTS
  

  • 2 9 inch pie crusts - homemade or store-bought, cold
  • ½ cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 egg - divided (yolk goes in pumpkin pie filling, white goes in egg wash)
  • ¾ cup cherry pie filling
  • ¾ cup blueberry pie filling
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

INSTRUCTIONS
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 °F. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a small bowl, combine pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and egg yolk. Set aside.
  • In another small bowl, whisk together egg white and a splash of water. Set aside.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll out the two homemade, cold pie dough to a ⅛ inch to ¼ inch thickness.
  • Cut out 12 pumpkin shapes, 12 ghost shapes, and 4 mummy shapes.
    NOTE: This makes 6 pumpkins, 6 ghosts, and 4 mummies.
  • Collect the pie dough scraps, form them into a ball and place in the refrigerator to firm up while you do the next steps.
  • Place 6 of the pumpkin shapes onto parchment lined baking sheets and top with 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of pumpkin puree.
  • Using a sharp knife, cut pumpkin faces into the 6 remaining pumpkin shapes and then place on top of the pumpkins with pumpkin puree. Crimp the two doughs together with a fork.
  • Place 6 of the ghost shapes onto parchment lined baking sheets and top with 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of blueberry pie filling.
  • Using a round piping tip, cut out 2 eyes (with the small end), and 1 mouth (with the large end) into the 6 remaining ghosts. Place them on top of the ghosts with blueberry pie filling and crimp the two together with a fork.
  • Place all 4 mummy shapes onto parchment lined baking sheets and top with 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of cherry pie filling.
  • Remove the remaining pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to an ⅛ inch thick. Cut into ¼ inch wide strips.
  • Place the strips over the mummies into a bandage-like fashion. Use the egg shaped cookie cutter to re-cut the shape. Remove excess pie dough and crimp the edges with a fork.
  • Place hand pies in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.
  • Lightly brush with egg wash, careful to avoid the filling. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
    NOTE: Baking times vary. Store-bought pie dough will take 15 to 20 minutes. Homemade pie doughs take longer, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • As the hand pies bake, combine powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream until smooth. Set aside.
  • Once the hand pies have finished baking, remove them from the oven and immediately brush the glaze on the ghosts and mummies using a small paint brush.
  • Once 10 minutes has passed, transfer the Halloween Hand Pies to a cooling rack and add 2 candy eyes to the mummies. Allow the hand pies to fully cool before serving.
  • Allow the hand pies to fully cool before serving.

RECIPE NOTES

Storing Information

  • At room temperature, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.
  • Refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 9 days. Reheat in the microwave before you want to eat them.
  • Frozen un-baked hand pies, in a sealable freezer bag, for up to 3 months. Bake as many as you want, as directed above. 

Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

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By Elizabeth Swoish on October 19th, 2024
Elizabeth Swoish holding a camera up to her eye taking a photo.

About Elizabeth Swoish

Elizabeth Swoish is the founder and CEO of Entirely Elizabeth. She is a self-taught foodie and mocktail enthusiast with a business degree in data analysis. Read Elizabeth's food journey or connect on your favorite social media channels.

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