I just love hand pies! They are easy enough to make and can be served at so many different types of events. Brunch, lunch or dinner parties, game day, open houses, birthdays, etc!! These particular hand pies are all about fall and would be a great addition to your Halloween or Thanksgiving gathering! The crust is light and sweet. The pumpkin filling is made creamy with mascarpone cheese and spiced with all of our favorite fall flavors. I very highly recommend pairing these with fresh whipped cream. Allow guests to dip their pie or spoon the whipped cream right on top! Enjoy!!

Quick notes:
– Using a 3 inch pumpkin cookie cutter, this recipe will make 14 hand pies. Although, I’ve stretched it to 20 by rolling the pastry very thin. One pie is a serving.
– From start to finish, this recipe will take you 3-4 hours depending on how quickly you roll and fill the pies.
– The filling doesn’t need to be frozen before filling the pastry but it’s well worth the extra time! It will take about an hour to freeze but can be made ahead and frozen overnight.

Pumpkin Mascarpone Filling

Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup golden brown sugar, packed
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
¾ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
¾ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup mascarpone cheese
½ large egg

Directions:
1. Whisk the egg until the white and yolk are completely combined. Pour half into a sealed container and set in the fridge to use at the end of this recipe.
2. Add the pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, spices and salt to a mixing bowl. Using a whisk attachment, mix on low speed until combined. Add the egg and mix until incorporated, then the mascarpone cheese. Increase the speed to medium for about 20 seconds, until everything is well-incorporated. Careful not to overbeat the mixture or the mascarpone will curdle.
3. Pour the mixture into a a large shallow dish, such as a lipped sheet pan or casserole dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer. If the filling is only about an inch deep, it’ll take an hour to freeze.
4. While you wait, make the pastry.
** The filling can be made ahead of time and left frozen overnight.

Rough Puff Pastry

Ingredients:
500 grams or 4 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter
3-4 ounces or 6-8 tablespoons cold water

Directions:
1. In a medium-sized bowl, add flour and salt. Toss with your hands until combined.
2. Cut the butter into small pieces, about a quarter inch in size.
3. Add the butter to the flour bowl and combine with your fingers. The goal is to have a marbled textured dough so incorporate the butter about half way to where the dough is slightly coming together but you still have isolated bits of butter (see picture).
4. Add 3 ounces of the water and incorporate with your hands, keeping in mind not to combine all the butter. If the dough is still too dry, add more water, 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) at a time. The most water this recipe should need is 4 ounces! The goal is to have a firm mass that is not overly sticky. A little water goes a long way!
5. Once the mass forms, give it an extra knead and split in half. Press both halves into a rectangle shape and wrap each separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
6. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Take half the dough out of the fridge and roll it out in only one direction, length-wise, until it has tripled in size.

*Tip: If the butter ended up fully incorporated into the dough (you do not see the butter marbled throughout), take about two tablespoons of soft butter and disperse tiny bits of it over the rolled dough. Then proceed with the next step.

7. Take the far end of the dough and fold it over to the center. Do the same with the near size. You want a tri-fold.
8. Give the dough a quarter turn so that the side facing you is the three layers of dough, not the rounded side. Roll out length-wise until the dough is tripled.
9. Fold and roll the dough once more per the two prior steps. Give it one last tri-fold and wrap in plastic. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
10. Let it all rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes but it can remain refrigerated overnight.

To assemble:
1. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Also, have a small bowl with water and some granulated white sugar near your work station.
2. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Take half the dough out of the fridge and roll it out to be 1/16 inch thick. When you are about halfway there, sprinkle about a half a tablespoon of granulated white sugar evenly over the pastry then finish rolling it out.
3. Using the pumpkin cookie cutter, cut out as many pumpkins as the dough will allow. You’ll want to get at least 14 pumpkins, making 7 hand pies.
4. Take the filling out of the freezer. If it is rock solid, microwave it in 10 second increments on half power until slightly softened. Place a tablespoon of the filling on one of the pumpkins (see the last picture under “Pumpkin Mascarpone Filling” for reference).
5. With your finger, lightly wet the edge of the dough. Take another pumpkin, place on top. Squeeze the edges with your fingers then take a fork and press along the seal. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
*Don’t be afraid to take a pair of scissors and trim the edges of your pumpkins. Sometimes they end up a little wonky after assembly.
6. Using a small knife with a smooth blade, cut four rounded vertical lines on the pumpkins (see pictures). Alternatively, cut other shapes like ghosts, jack-o-lanterns… etc! Cut deep lines but not all the way through to the filling.
7. Place the prepared pumpkins in the freezer for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. After 15 minutes of freezing, grab the reserved egg out of the refrigerator and add a splash of water, whisk until smooth. Also, have granulated sugar ready. Now take the pumpkins out of the freezer.
9. Lightly brush each pumpkin with the egg wash then sprinkle sugar on top of that. Move fairly quickly, you do not want the pumpkins to lose their chill.
10. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.
11. These can be served immediately or brought to room temperature and refrigerated for later. To reheat the pumpkins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once at temperature, bake for 10 minutes until warmed through.

Note: There will be scraps of dough left over from carving out the pumpkins. If you want to squeeze out another couple of pumpkins, lay the scraps on top of each other and repeat the instructions on rolling, freezing and baking the pumpkins. Do not kneed or squeeze the left over dough so that you maintain as much of that butter marbling as possible!