Wrap up two delicious flavors of the holidays in these cute handheld pies. Flaky, all-butter pie crust holds spiced pumpkin filling and cranberry sauce.
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Hold these holiday flavors right in your hand!
This is a creative twist on a traditional pumpkin pie, one of our favorite desserts at Thanksgiving and through the winter holidays. That spiced pumpkin pie filling is paired with tart cranberry sauce.
Why you'll love this recipe
Pumpkin and cranberry pair beautifully together, especially when the pumpkin is filled with holiday spices and sugar.
Making these hand pies may seem a little unusual when holiday tables are typically filled with whole pies. However, they're nice because they're portable (perfect when you need to bring the dessert to a big holiday dinner) and perfectly portioned. Not only will they be a unique dessert, but they also give you a little more of that beautifully crisp, all-butter crust to enjoy.
This recipe uses my Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust. Visit my post here to see the recipe plus tips and tricks for this delicious hand-made pie crust dough. In a pinch for time? Make this dough ahead of time: up to 3 days ahead if stored in the fridge or 1 month ahead if stored in the freezer.
I have another pumpkin recipe for you: Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies!
🔪 How to make Pumpkin Cranberry Hand Pies
Step 1: Prepare the pumpkin filling
Whisk together the flour, sugar, and spices in a medium bowl. Mix together the pumpkin, evaporated milk, and eggs in a stand mixer, then slowly add in the dry mixture.
Step 2: Roll out the dough
Take one of the Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust Dough portions from the fridge. Divide it into 5 pieces. Roll out each piece into a 5-inch circle.
Step 3: Add the filling and form the hand pies
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Spoon 2 tablespoons of pumpkin filling and 1 heaping teaspoon of cranberry sauce into the center of each circle. Fold the back edge of the dough circle over to meet the front edge. Fold the edge up once, moisten it with ice water, then fold up the edge again. Press and crimp the edge closed.
When these 5 are done, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and repeat these steps with the other portion of dough to create 5 more hand pies. Then loosely cover the 10 pies with plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge to chill.
Step 4: Bake the pies
Once chilled, give the pie edges one more good crimp. Cut a couple of slits in the top of each pie so they can vent. Whisk together an egg with 2 tablespoons of water, and brush this over the tops of the pies. Sprinkle a little decorating sugar over them, too.
Bake them in a 400° F oven on a lower rack for about 30 minutes until they're nicely browned all over. Let them cool; serve them a bit warm or at room temperature.
Tips:
- Remember while working with the dough if it's getting warm or difficult to handle, pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up.
Give these a try for your Thanksgiving dessert table... or any dessert table, really. My bet is that no one will be upset if they find themselves eating Pumpkin Cranberry Hand Pies in, say, March!
The recipe for the hand pies is below, and find the recipe for the Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust here. I have a few other holiday treat ideas for you, too:
💬 Have you tried Pumpkin Cranberry Hand Pies? Leave a comment below!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Cranberry Hand Pies
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Ingredients
- Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust Dough recipe
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
- ½ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 large eggs, divided
- 16 ounces pure pumpkin purée
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- ⅓ cup cranberry sauce
- Ice water
Instructions
- Have the Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust Dough, divided into two portions waiting for you in the fridge.
Make the pumpkin filling:
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and ground cloves.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 of the eggs, the pumpkin purée and evaporated milk. Add in the flour mixture in two or three additions until the batter comes together and is smooth.
Roll out the dough:
- Have a small bowl of ice water with you at the work area. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove one of the dough portions from the fridge and divide it into 5 pieces.
- Roll out each piece into a 6-inch circle.
Fill the pies:
- Into the center of each circle place 2 tablespoons of pumpkin filling. Top this with 1 heaping teaspoon of cranberry sauce.
- Working on one pie at a time, moisten the edge of the dough with water. Fold the far edge of the circle toward you to meet the other edge.
- Fold the edge up one time, moisten this with water, and then fold the edge up again. Crimp the edge down firmly with your fingers or a fork.
- Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet. Continue with four other pies and place them on the baking sheet.
- Repeat these steps with the remaining portion of pie crust dough so you have a total of 10 hand pies. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate the pies for 30 minutes.
Bake:
- Preheat the over to 400° F. Place an oven rack in the position just below the middle of the oven.
- Remove the pies from the fridge. Crimp the edges once more firmly. Cut 1 or 2 slits in the tops of the pies to vent them.
- Beat the remaining egg with 2 tablespoons of water. Brush the tops of the pies with this egg wash. Sprinkle some granulated sugar over the tops.
- Bake the pies for 30 minutes, until the crust has nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the filling comes out clean.
- Remove the pies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Serve the pies warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- This recipe uses my Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust. Visit my post here to see the recipe plus tips and tricks for this delicious hand-made pie crust dough. In a pinch for time? Make this dough ahead of time: up to 3 days ahead if stored in the fridge or 1 month ahead if stored in the freezer.
- Remember that if the dough is getting warm or difficult to handle, pop it back in the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes.
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