Chef notes
Whether you’re looking for a festive Halloween-themed breakfast or afternoon snack, these spooky mummies are a perfect fruity and festive treat. Filled with boo-berry, aka blueberry jam and wrapped in flaky pie dough, all it takes to make these pies mummified is a package of candy eyes.
Hand pies are a great alternative to regular ol’ pie for when you’re on the go, or when you need to bring goodies for a crowd. They’re also super kid-friendly! To make this recipe especially easy, utilize pre-made ingredients.
Start by rolling out store-bought pie dough on a lightly floured work surface. Spread a dollop of jam over the dough, then criss cross the dough strips to create a bandaged look. Typically you’d want to bake pie until deeply golden brown, but for this recipe it’s important to take the pies out of the oven when they’re still pale for a ghoulish appearance. Once cool, decorate the pies with icing and candy eyes.
Technique Tip: If homemade dough is more your speed, you can make your own with our all-butter crust recipe.
Swap Option: Boo-berry is a riff on the word blueberry, but don’t let that hold you back from experimenting with different flavor combinations. You can use any type of jam here such as blackberry, strawberry, cherry or even orange marmalade.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 package refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts)
- 1 12-ounce jar blueberry jam
- 1 cup (4 ounces) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 package candy eyeballs
Preparation
For the pies:
1.Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
2.In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water.
3.On a floured work surface, use a rolling pin to gently flatten one of the pie crust rounds and stretch into a 12-inch circle. With a ruler and a pizza or pastry cutter, slice the dough into eight 3-by-4-inch rectangles. Some of the rectangles will have rounded edges because of the shape of the dough. For these, use the smaller incomplete dough scraps left over from cutting the rectangles to piece together the missing corners, sealing the seams with egg wash and trimming excess. Transfer the finished rectangles to the prepared baking sheet.
4.Use the rolling pin to gently flatten the second pie crust round, but do not stretch this round into a larger circle.
5.With a ruler and a pizza or pastry cutter, slice the dough into long strips, about 1/2-inch wide.
6.Brush the edges of each dough rectangle with the egg wash. Spoon 2 teaspoons of blueberry jam into the center of each dough rectangle, leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the edges.
7.Criss-cross the dough strips over each rectangle to make "bandages," pressing gently at the edges to adhere one piece of dough to the other. Use additional egg wash at the edges of any overlapping dough strips to make sure all seams are glued together. Trim any rough edges with the pastry cutter.
8.Bake the pies for about 15 minutes, until the dough is matte and the filling is just starting to bubble. Don't let the pie crust brown too much; you want it to remain pale in color and not get too crunchy. Transfer the pies to a wire rack and cool completely.
For the icing:
Stir the powdered sugar, corn syrup, milk and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl.
To assemble:
1.Pipe or brush the mummy pies with the icing to decorate the bandage strips.
2.Dab icing on the back of the candy eyes and gently press pairs of eyes onto each pie to finish.
3.Let the pies rest at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes, until the icing hardens, before serving.
