A delicious and fun Halloween recipes that kids will love getting involved with. These Mini Halloween Pies are made with some puff pasty and lemon curd and you can really get creative with the Jack O'Lantern faces.
We love to give our food a spooky twist when Halloween comes and this might be the easiest Halloween recipe there is. Just 4 ingredients and kids will love making their own faces and filling their own pies.
If you are looking for some other ways to use puff pastry, then why not try our Apple Turnovers, Cinnamon Swirls or Chocolate and Banana Pinwheels.
Jump to:
Why you will love them
- A fun Halloween activity - Not only are these pastry pumpkins delicious, but they are so easy to make too.
- Adaptable - Firstly, you can adapt the faces that are cut into the pastry, but you can also adapt the filling.
- Party food - If you are having a Halloween party this year, then these are easy to make a big batch of and they will go down really well.
- Quick - Just 10 minutes prep goes into making these pastry pumpkins and then they take just 15 minutes in the oven.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Puff pastry - Using store bought puff pastry is one of our favourite kitchen "cheats". It just saves so much time and honestly we can't taste the difference.
- Lemon curd - This is what the pastry is filled with and gives that amazing yellow glow like a lit pumpkin. But you could swap it for jam if you prefer.
- Egg - Brushing the pastry with an egg wash before it goes in the oven will ensure that they get a lovely golden flakey crust.
- Sugar - This adds some extra crunch and golden colour at the end. You could leave this out though.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make mini Halloween pies - Step by step
Prep: Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.
One: Use a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to cut 12 shapes in the pastry.
Two: Use a small, sharp knife to carefully cut faces into 6 of the pumpkin shapes.
Three: Divide the lemon curd between the pumpkins that don't have faces.
Four: Put the pumpkins with faces on top of the ones with lemon curd. Crimp the edges with a fork. Brush with whisked egg and sprinkle with sugar.
Five: Cook for 15 minutes. Once cooked, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool.
Variations
This is a pretty simple recipe so there are not too many ways that you can adapt it. However, you can get so creative with the faces you cut into the pastry. You don't have a lot of space to work with, but depending on your artistic skills, you can carve any face that you would carve into a pumpkin.
Another way you can adapt these pastry pumpkins is with the filling. We used lemon curd because not only is it delicious, but it gives the pies an amazing yellow/orange glow, like a candle instead a pumpkin. You could use a raspberry or strawberry jam instead, or even our Strawberry Puree. If you want something a little more indulgent, then you can add some Nutella or Biscoff.
What to serve with Mini Pumpkin Pies
These are perfect just as they are. A nice breakfast or snack, but you can also have them warm as a dessert. Serve them with some really good quality vanilla ice cream or clotted cream. Custard is also delicious over them.
We like to add a sprinkling of icing sugar on top for presentation (and a little extra sweetness). However, you could mix the icing sugar with a little water, or even a little lemon juice, to make it in to an icing and then drizzle that over the pies. A drizzle of caramel sauce is also amazing on these.
If you are looking for a hot drink to have this with as a bit of an afternoon pick-me-up, then why not try our Chai Tea Latte, Cinnamon Coffee or Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate?
Storage
Store: You can store these in an air tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. They are best eaten after one day though.
Freeze: You can actually freeze these before they are baked. Make up the pastries, but don't brush with egg wash! Put them on a lined baking tray and into the freezer until frozen. You can then transfer them to a freezer bag and they will keep for 3 months. When you want to cook them, take them out of the freezer (do not defrost), put the on a baking tray and brush with egg wash and put them in the oven for 23 minutes. We wouldn't recommend freezing them once cooked, as they don't defrost well.
Frequently Asked Questions
It doesn't matter how well you crimp the edges of the pies, sometimes the mixture will seep out a little. There are a few things that you can do to prevent this from happening though. Use a fork to really tightly crimp the edges. Making sure the edges are well brushed with the egg wash will stop the pastry from drying out and cracking. You can also put the pies in the fridge for 15 minutes before they go in the oven which will help.
If you use gluten free puff pastry and make sure that there is no cross contamination, then these can be gluten free.
Yes, you can easily double this recipe. You will just need to use 2 baking trays.
More halloween desert recipes
If you’ve tried this mini Halloween pies, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Mini Halloween Pies
Ingredients
- 375 g (13.25 oz) Puff pastry
- 3 tablespoon Lemon curd
- 1 Egg - whisked
- Sugar - (for sprinkling; optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.
- Use a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to cut 12 shapes in the pastry.
- Use a small, sharp knife to carefully cut faces into 6 of the pumpkin shapes.
- Divide the lemon curd between the pumpkins that don't have faces.
- Put the pumpkins with faces on top of the ones with lemon curd. Crimp the edges with a fork. Brush with whisked egg and sprinkle with sugar.
- Cook for ?? minutes. Once cooked, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool.
Notes
- This recipe uses a 375g/13oz sheet of puff pastry, but not all of it is used. This means the nutritional information will be higher than it actually is.
- Instead of a jam or curd, you could add some finely diced apples and make mini apple pies.
- You can use this recipe to make any shapes - it doesn't have to be pumpkins.
- Take these to the next level and drizzle them with some caramel before serving.
- If you want kids to get involved with making this, get them to tell you what faces they want and cut them yourself and then they can add the filling. The faces need to be cut with a small sharp knife, which wouldn't be suitable for young children.
Nutritional Information
Matej @ CookWeWill.Com
Such a nice little treat! Can't wait to make it for my kids this weekend.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
These are so effective and I love the glow from the lemon curd. Perfect activity with the kids too.
Beth Sachs
Love these jack-o-lantern pies, and such an easy Halloween recipe for the kids!
kushigalu
These pies look so cute. Perfect for Halloween. Thanks for sharing
Farah
Absolutely adorable! And yum, the lemon curd sounds great. Thanks for the inspo!!
Michelle
These are fantastic and so fun! I wonder if they would work with pumpkin or apple butter.