Spooky Sweet Potato Ghost Hand Pies Recipe

If you haven't started getting into the Halloween spirit yet, these spooky sweet potato ghost hand pies will certainly put you in a festive mood. Perfect for Halloween parties or for bringing to the office, these hand pies are fun, flaky, and delicious. They're made with a spiced sweet potato filling that's wrapped in a flaky, all-butter pie crust, and finished with either cinnamon sugar or a light glaze. They aren't overly sweet, so they're the perfect treat for kids and adults alike.

Recipe developer Katie Rosenhouse tells us, "By using a ghost-shaped cookie cutter, these hand pies come together in no time. Once you get the technique down, you can also use fall shapes such as maple leaves, pumpkins, or even turkeys for Thanksgiving to enjoy them throughout the season. Feel free to swap the sweet potato for pumpkin puree, if preferred." These versatile pies are as customizable as they are festive, making them a must-bake for any fall celebration.

To make these hand pies, you'll need to prepare a homemade pie dough and a sweet potato filling. For the crust, you'll combine all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and kosher salt. Unsalted butter creates pockets of fat, resulting in a flaky texture, and cold water binds the dough together. This all-butter crust is flaky, tender, and delicious, but you can also use store-bought dough in a pinch.

For the filling, canned sweet potato puree is sweetened by dark brown sugar and spiced with ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, kosher salt, and a splash of bourbon. You can substitute the bourbon with rum or vanilla extract, and swap the individual spices with pumpkin pie spice, if desired. Melted butter adds richness, and you can mix in toasted pecans for a nutty crunch. 

After sealing the filling between two layers of pie dough, brush egg wash over the top for even browning. At this point, you can sprinkle the hand pies with cinnamon sugar, or bake them as-is and top them with a glaze made from confectioners' sugar, milk (or water), and salt. Add candy eyes for a final spooky touch.

Prepare the pie dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix to combine the flour, sugar, and salt.

Add the butter and mix until only small pieces remain visible.

Add ¼ cup cold water and mix lightly just until the dough becomes shaggy.

Transfer the dough to a clean surface and form it into a flat disk.

Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, stir to combine the sweet potato puree, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and bourbon (or vanilla).

Add the pecans, if using, and melted butter; stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Lightly dust a clean surface with flour.

Roll the dough to ⅛-inch thickness.

Cut out ghost shapes using a ghost cookie cutter.

Transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and repeat. You should have about 32 ghosts.

Stir to combine the egg with a splash of water.

Brush the edges of 16 ghosts with the egg wash.

Dollop about 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of each egg-washed ghost.

Top with the remaining ghosts and press the edges lightly around the filling to seal.

Use a small fork to crimp the edges.

Brush the egg wash over sealed ghosts to coat.

If desired, top some or all of the ghosts with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly.

If desired, the prepare glaze: Stir to combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon milk (or water), and 1 pinch kosher salt until smooth.

Brush the glaze over the ghosts. Top the glazed ghosts with candy eyes before the glaze sets.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Once you get the hang of making hand pies from scratch, you'll realize how easy it is to make them throughout the year and highlight seasonal produce in unique ways. To change up these hand pies but still keep the Halloween theme, swap the sweet potato puree with pumpkin puree and use pumpkin-shaped cutters. Tint the glaze with orange food coloring and decorate the pies with festive sprinkles. For Thanksgiving, switch the ghost cutter to a turkey shape, or for everyday fall gatherings, use an apple-shaped cutter and fill them with apple pie filling. You can even customize them for winter holidays and beyond — the possibilities are endless. 

To change up the toppings for these ghost hand pies, try replacing the cinnamon sugar with cardamom or pumpkin pie spice sugar, or swap the glaze with a drizzle of melted white chocolate. Add festive Halloween sprinkles for a fun touch, or keep it simple by dusting the cooled hand pies with confectioners' sugar before serving. 

Hand pies are a great make-ahead option and are perfect for getting ahead of your party prep. Prepare and fill the hand pies as directed, crimping them with a fork. At that point, you can wrap the baking sheets tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate them overnight, or flash freeze the hand pies until firm. If you transfer them to freezer-safe, zip-top bags, they can remain frozen for up to two months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator if they're frozen before topping them with egg wash and baking as directed. 

If you aren't ready to assemble the hand pies, you can simply prepare the pie dough in advance. Make it as directed, wrap the disk of dough tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to two months. Thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before rolling it out to help soften the dough slightly. The sweet potato filling can also be prepared the day before. Just refrigerate it in an airtight container until it's ready to use.