This Jack of Lantern Hand Pie is not only attractive but most of all it taste absolutely delicious, not to mention adorably cute and funny.

I cannot express how much I love this mini Jack-O-Lantern Hand Pies, they totally swept me off my feet and everybody else who see it. How could I not fall in love with these adorable crazy pumpkin pie? Each one of them has a character on its own that me smile when I stared at them. I would say this is probably the best Halloween treats that I made so far, and the one that I enjoyed the most.

I find Halloween quite challenging when thinking on what treats to make. There are hundreds of Halloween treat ideas online, but in my opinion there’s only few that are both physically attractive and delicious. So when it comes to making treats for occasion, it’s a must for me to satisfy 3 things, simple, taste good and really edible and of course physically attractive to say the least. I think this Jack-O-Lantern Hand Pie satisfied  those 3 simple criteria. Simple, because this pie was made using my easy homemade flakey and stable pie crust  and you can make even ahead of time. Delicious, definitely. These hand pies uses my simple homemade fruit filling which can also be made ahead of time, that’s a plus. Then last but not the least, attractive. I think these hand pies speak for themselves, no explanation needed on how cute they are. Basically, it’s just a pie, made mini and cut out in a shape of a Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin. If you’ve done pie before, this should be easy breezy for you. If this is your first time, then guaranteed you are going to have so much fun making this. Let’s break down the steps, there’s 3 main steps needed to make this cute pies. 

Make the Pie Dough 

I prefer using a Homemade Pie Crust (I have a video below) because I find it more stable especially for cutting into shapes like this lantern cookie. But by all means, if you don’t have time to make your own pie crust, you can use a store-bought. Either option, you can make it or buy it ahead of time and make sure it is chilled and hard enough so that It doesn’t break during carving. But seriously, making homemade pie dough is so easy, give it a try.

Carving

This is one of the best and fun part of making it. You get to carve your own pumpkin face in the pie dough. Make a happy face, crooked face, crazy face, silly face, mischievous face or however you want it to look like. This is what makes this pie adorable, don’t worry about making it perfect. It’s Halloween, deformed pumpkin is totally acceptable. Important tip to remember, chill the dough back into the freezer before carving the face. The more solid is, the easier to work on it. 

Choose Your Filling

I used all Homemade Pie Filling and some fresh fruit. Luckily, I made different fruit pie filling before the Summer ends and so I have few bottles of fresh homemade filling waiting in my fridge to be used, I left a link below check them out.  You can use store-bought jam if you do not have time to make your own, use whatever filling works for you. You can also use pumpkin pie filling, which will make it more like Halloween Fall treat. Make sure to remove excess liquid when using fruits sauces like what I have here. Simply pass through a sieve and leave few minutes for the sauce to drip. Whichever filling you choose, don’t put too much. Leave allowance on the side to seal the pie and prevent it from overflowing. Sometimes less is more.

Assembly  , Let’s Put Them Together

Now let’s put all the parts together. Assemble all parts together to form a Jack-O-Lantern Pie. Put a filling in the center, brush water or egg wash on all sides, and cover top with the carved piece. Use a fork to seal the side, then freeze before baking to insure the shape will remain intact. When ready to bake, brush top with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake, let it cool completely and show it off. After all, these cute pies deserve to be put on parade. Let’s get started and make Jack-O-Lantern. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Batch of Homemade Pie Crust (Makes 12 pcs)
• 1/2 cup Assorted Pie Filling or jam (I used my Homemade Pie Filling)
• Egg wash – 1 Egg + 1 tsp water or milk

Instructions:

1. Make the Pie Dough: I have a video check it out Homemade Pie Crust(VIDEO). The pie dough can be made in advance, store in the refrigerator 2-3 days or freeze up to 3 months. If using frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Cutting: Divide the dough into half and keep the other half  refrigerated while you work of the first half. Roll out the dough and flatten to about 1/4-inch. If the dough gets to soft, put it back in the refrigerator to chill. Using a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, make 12 individual pumpkin pieces. Chill in the freezer at least 15 – 30 minutes before carving. Do the same for the other half of the pie dough. You should end up with 24 pieces in total. 12 pieces for the bottom and 12 pieces for carving.
3. Carve: Carve the pumpkin piece one at a time keeping all the other pieces in the freezer while you work on each piece. I used BBQ stick to mark the initial design, you can use any pointed sharp object for marking. Once marking is done, use a small sharp knife and go around the marked areas. Gently lift and remove the dough from the cut out. Use the side of the stick to smoothed the edges of the carved area. Use a spatula or scraper to lift and transfer in a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper. Store in the freezer while you work on the other pieces.
4. Filling:  Arrange the pumpkin cut out by pair. The bottom portion is the uncarved piece and the top is the carved piece. Brush the side of the bottom piece with egg wash. Fill the center with the choice of your filling, about 1 1/2 tsp each piece or just enough to fill the center without exploding when sealed. Make sure to remove excess liquid when using fruits sauces like what I have here. Simply pass through a sieve and leave few minutes for the sauce to drip.
5. Assembly: Cover the top with the carved piece and seal the edges using a fork. Go around the edges and push down the fork to seal it. Do this for all the pieces.
6. Freeze: Last but not the least, put in the freezer for about 30 minutes before baking. If you want to freeze it for future baking, wrap it in aluminum foil and keep in a ziplock bag. Make sure that pie are fully frozen before wrapping them in a foil to avoid them sticking together.
7. Egg wash: Brush top with egg wash and sprinkle top with granulated sugar.
8. Bake: Bake  in a pre-heated 350F oven for 20 minutes or until the pie turns brown.

Makes 12

Related Posts:

• Yummy Mummy Chocolate Cookies
• Spooktacular Halloween Cookies
• [VIDEO] 4 Ingredients Pie Crust Made Easy!
• 5 Easy Homemade Pie Filling

Featured Video: How To Make Pie Crust

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