Pumpkin hand pies are the perfect grab and go dessert for Fall. This hand pie recipe is a fun twist on traditional Pumpkin Pie. Complete with a super flaky crust, a not too sweet pumpkin filling and a single serving size, this Pumpkin hand pie recipe could just be your new favorite Thanksgiving recipe.
Are you looking for a Fall dessert idea that is easy to make, full of Fall flavor and just might replace traditional pies on your Thanksgiving menu? Then, here you go! Today, I am sharing my new found love: Pumpkin Hand Pies.
I don’t share a ton of dessert recipes here. Maybe that is because I don’t make and eat a lot of desserts. I tend to crave savory and salty things. Instead, give me a huge bowl of popcorn or a plate of chips and salsa and I will be your BFF! But, for the holidays, I do love to bake pies and cookies. I don’t consider myself an awesome baker. However, I do like the challenge of baking.
The crust for this recipe is from Sean Brock’s newest book South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations. His pie crust recipe yields phenomenal results. This is the first recipe I tried from this book and it hit a home run with my family!
Ingredients You Will Need for this Pumpkin Hand Pie Recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour, preferably unbleached, is the base for this super flaky pie crust
- Salt, you will need just a little bit. Remember salt brings out flavor! I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt for my crusts.
- Very cold unsalted butter. If you only have salted, don’t sweat it.
- Ice water. You want the water to be very cold so you can keep the dough cold. Cold dough makes for a flakier crust.
- Eggs for the filling and for making an egg wash that you will brush over the pies just before baking.
- Pumpkin purée, fresh or canned. Make sure it’s 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own or buy it already mixed up.
- Pure vanilla extract for deepening the flavor of the pumpkin filling.
- Granulated sugar to sweeten the yummy filling.
- Raw sugar, to sprinkle on the outside of the hand pies. This coarse sugar looks pretty on the pies and gives them a little crunch.
How to Make a flaky crust for Pumpkin Hand Pies:
- Dice 20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) of cold unsalted butter into small pieces. Then, place the butter back in the refrigerator while you measure out 3 cups of flour into a large bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the flour and stir it up.
- Add the diced butter to the flour. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, combine the butter and flour mixture. When the butter pieces in the flour mixture are about the size of peas, add in approximately 1/2 cup of ice water. Add the water in a little bit at time. You may not need all of the water.
- Mix until the dough comes together just well enough to hold together. Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and shape it into two discs that are about an inch think. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least an hour. At this point, the dough can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for about six weeks.
Making the Hand Pies:
Step One: Mix up your Filling
- Mix together 1 cup of 100% pumpkin purée, 1 beaten egg, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Set the filling aside until you are ready to roll out the dough.
Step Two: Assemble and Bake the Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Pre-heat your oven to 450°. Prepare a couple of baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Make an egg wash by beating one egg and mixing in a small bit of water.
- Next, take one of the discs of dough from the fridge. Roll it out on a floured surface until it is about 1/8th of an inch thick. Cut out 4 inch rounds. Re-roll the scraps and cut out a few more rounds. Cover the cut out rounds and place them back in the fridge. Repeat the process with the other disc of dough. You should be able to get about 8 rounds from each disc.
- For each dough round: Place a small bit of pumpkin filling in the middle. Brush the edges with egg wash. Fold over the dough into a half moon shape. Finally, press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal.
- Brush the top of each hand pie with the egg wash and then sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until they are golden brown.
Hand Pie Filling Variations:
You will find so many filing ideas for hand pies. For sweet ones, I like to use jam or pie fillings. Some of my favorite fillings are blueberry, apple and blackberry. You can even put squares of chocolate inside the dough to make chocolate filled hand pies.
Pumpkin Hand Pies
Ingredients
For the crusts
- 3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 2.5 sticks Unsalted butter 20 TBSP
- 1/4 cup Ice water
For the filling
- 1 egg
- 1 cup Pure pumpkin purée
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1/4 cup sugar
For assembling and finishing the hand pies
- 1 egg
- 1 TBSP water
- Raw sugar, for sprinkling over the pies
Instructions
Prepare the dough for the crusts
- Dice 20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) of cold unsalted butter into small pieces. Then, place the butter back in the refrigerator to chill.
- Measure out 3 cups of flour into a large bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the flour and stir it up.
- Add the diced butter to the flour. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, combine the butter and flour mixture. When the butter pieces in the flour mixture are about the size of peas, add in approximately 1/2 cup of ice water. Add the water in a little bit at time. You may not need all of the water. Mix until the dough comes together just well enough to hold together.
- Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and shape it into two discs that are about an inch think. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least an hour.
Prepare the Pumpkin filing
- Mix together 1 cup of 100% pumpkin purée, 1 beaten egg, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Set the filling aside until you are ready to roll out the dough.
Assemble and Bake the Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Pre-heat your oven to 450°. Prepare a couple of baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
- Make an egg wash by beating one egg and mixing in a small bit of water.
- Take one of the discs of dough from the fridge. Roll it out on a floured surface until it is about 1/8th of an inch thick. Cut out 4 inch rounds. Re-roll the scraps and cut out a few more rounds. Cover the cut out rounds and place them back in the fridge. Repeat the process with the other disc of dough. You should be able to get about 8 rounds from each disc.
- For each dough round: Place a small bit of pumpkin filling in the middle. Brush the edges with egg wash. Fold over the dough into a half moon shape. Press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal.
- Brush the top of each hand pie with the egg wash and then sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until they are golden brown.
Other desserts you might love:
This White Cake is filled with jam and iced with a delicious buttercream. Also, a Pavlova filled with glorious orange curd makes the perfect holiday dessert. A fruit-filled galette is another great dessert that is made with pie crust. You could use the pie crust recipe for these hand pies and make two galettes!
