For a quick bite during the hectic Halloween season, grab one of these delicious Jack O’Lantern Ham and Swiss Hand Pies. They are way easier to make than carving a pumpkin, and taste as good as they look!
Ingredients: Here’s What You’ll Need
The ingredients for the Jack O’Lantern Ham and Swiss Hand Pie include store-bought pie crust, Dijon mustard, Swiss cheese, ham, and an egg for the egg wash. For variety, you could also use Brie in place of Swiss cheese.
Here’s How I Made These Adorable Hand Pies
I started by unrolling one of the pie crusts onto a floured surface and used a Wilton Pumpkin cookie cutter to cut the shapes. I was able to get seven pumpkins from one crust. I repeated the process with the other pie crust. Previously, I had made a template with cut-outs of the eyes and nose on card stock, so I used that as a pattern to cut out the eyes and noses on half of the pumpkins with a sharp knife.
I spread some mustard on the uncut side of one of the pumpkin shapes and topped that with some Swiss cheese and ham, making sure that I left space around the edge. Then, I put one of the cut pumpkin shapes on top and pressed it all around to produce a seal.
I brushed the tops with some egg wash and baked the Jack O’Lantern Hand Pies at 425°F for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, the Jack O’Lantern Ham and Swiss Hand Pies were golden brown. I transferred them to a wire rack, and let them cool for about 5 minutes before sampling one of the morsels. They were crispy and delicious. Yum!
If you’re looking for some more yummy Halloween dishes, check out my Spooky 8-Layer Taco Dip, Halloween Ghost Pizza, or Mac O’Lantern Salad.
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Recipe
Jack O’Lantern Ham and Swiss Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 1 box refrigerated pie crusts
- 3 to 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 to 4 slices thinly sliced Black Forest or Virginia ham, cut in half
- 3 to 4 slices thinly sliced Swiss cheese, cut in half
- 1 large egg plus 1 Tablespoon of water for the egg wash
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
- Make a template of a pumpkin cookie cutter on card stock. Cut out eyes and nose from the template.
- Unroll pie crusts on a floured surface. Cut each crust into 6 to 7 pumpkin shapes with a 3-inch pumpkin cookie cutter.
- Using the template, cut the eyes and nose with a sharp knife on half of the cutouts.
- Spread ½ teaspoon of Dijon mustard on the solid pumpkin shapes.
- Fold Swiss cheese into 2-inch squares, and place on top of the mustard.
- Fold ham into 2-inch squares and place on top of the Swiss cheese.
- Top with remaining pumpkins with cut-out faces. Carefully press edges to seal.
- Place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with egg wash. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool on the rack for 5 minutes before serving. Yield 6 to 7 hand pies.
Nutrition
can these be made the night before and baked less than 24 hours later?
I’ve not made these ahead of time for baking later. However, I’d be a bit concerned that the mustard on the bottom crust could cause the bottom crust to be somewhat soggy. I’d probably go ahead and bake the hand pies and reheat them before serving.
Thank you. I decided I will get them all ready to go, and then assemble them next day 🙂
Hope you enjoy them!
Success! Definitely keeping this recipe. Easy to make and so good. The only problem I had was with the crimping. The two crusts didn’t want to meld. Tried a little water but it was futile in some places. Still great.
Hi Debbie,
Sorry about that. Maybe the ham or the cheese extended too far down interfering with the crimping? That’s the only think that I can think of. I’m glad, however, that you liked the hand pies!
Chula