2-Ingredient Holiday Jam Tarts

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These mummy hand pies are a must-have for Halloween. They are cute, delicious, and easy to make. Just make the cut outs with pie crust, then customize them with different fruit fillings (like mixed berry) and bake!

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These easy mini tarts made with a store-bought pastry dough and your favorite jams or marmalades come together in 10 minutes! While these jam tarts are simple to make, the taste will only shine if you take care to use quality ingredients. A real hit to make with kids at holiday gatherings!

2-Ingredient Jam Tarts

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Turn your leftover pie dough into these awesome Pie Crust Cookies that are filled with your favorite jam or jelly. These crispy pinwheels are ridiculously easy to make for a sweet crispy treat.

These tarts are made with leftover pie dough

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First I must admit that these jelly tarts are one of my absolute favorites. Thanks to my mother and all her pies, she would make these treats from the leftover pie crusts, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them.

There’s nothing to making these crispy cookies, they are made from scraps of pie dough with jelly, or jam rolled inside.  How easy is that? Today though I am making a full double crust pie recipe so I can serve these tarts for dessert.

I almost always make extra pie dough just to have some leftovers for these tarts.  I usually use jam, but also I have also spread the dough with chopped apples, orange marmalade, and sometimes just sugar and cinnamon.  Use your imagination.

Take your favorite childhood treat to the next level with these delicious peanut butter and jam hand pies made with the flakiest pie crust and filled with your favorite combination of peanut butter and jam. It’s like uncrustables but 100x times better 😉. You can make the pie crust in advance and whip up these pb&j pies for breakfast anytime you want!

I don’t think I have met even a single person in my life who does not like a peanut butter and jam/jelly (whatever you call it) sandwich. It’s just a 10/10 combination. The creaminess of the peanut butter, the jamminess of the jam. The saltiness of the peanut butter, the sweetness of the fruit, really, this is a combination curated by God himself, cause it’s absolutely perfect.

Funnily enough, peanut butter and jam sandwiches aren’t really a common breakfast in South-Asian households, so I only tried it during my college years. And trust me, the sadness I felt about missing out on this delicacy for 18 years of life was immense. But hey, better late than never, right?

Although I truly believe that it’s hard to beat a classic, untoasted, white bread peanut butter and jam sandwich, I’ve found an EXCELLENT way to spice up your everyday peanut butter jam sandwich – by putting it between two slices of pie dough instead of bread. And let me tell you something, it’s LIFE CHANGING.

I mean, honestly. Just imagine the nostalgic, delicious flavors of a PB&J sandwich between flaky, crunchy, crispy layers of pie. It’s really the most elite way to enjoy peanut butter and jam.

Now I know that none of you would want to wake up early in the morning to roll out pie dough, so here’s something simple you can do. Make this easy-peasy pie crust recipe and store it in the freezer. This way, you can make these PB&J pies (or any other pie) whenever you want!

I have also tried this with a few variations and they all turn out delicious. Here are a few hand-pie variations for you to try:

• Smores: chocolate chips + marshmallow
• Chocolate + Caramel
• Chocolate + Jam
• Cream cheese/Labna + Honey

Jump to recipe if you like, but be sure to read the whole post for instructional photos & other tips.

Baked Hand Pies featuring Heavenly Rhubarb Jam. Made with an easy, flaky homemade pie dough and a family favourite pineapple strawberry rhubarb jam. Perfectly portioned and using only a few simple ingredients, even beginner bakers can master these adorable little pies.

Baked Hand Pies featuring Heavenly Rhubarb Jam.

Olivia here again! It’s been a busy few weeks for me. I’ve just moved into a new apartment in Parkdale, and upgraded to a much larger kitchen. It’s where I’ve been spending most of my time, and these Heavenly Rhubarb Baked Hand Pies are my latest creation.

Rhubarb was a real indicator of spring growing up in Newfoundland. I remember it growing in my Nan’s yard in Norman’s Cove alongside prickly currants. At my first job making waffles at the St. John’s Farmer’s Market, the seasonal rhubarb topping would run out faster than any other.

A homemade flaky pastry makes them so good!

Now that I live in Toronto, I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for rhubarb the past few weeks. I was so happy to find some at my go-to fruit stand on West Queen West.

Heavenly Rhubarb Jam is a family favourite recipe that my great-grandmother used to make. Dad updated that recipe a few years ago to use fresh or frozen fruit instead of canned pineapple and Jello.

For these baked hand pies, I actually adapted the jam recipe again to incorporate No Sugar Needed Pectin. It serves several functions here. Firstly, it helps set the jam more effectively, making it less likely to ooze out of your hand pies (although it’s not a big deal if that does happen.)

Secondly, it allows you to use less sugar, adjusting the sweetness of the jam to your taste. I prefer a less sweet jam, which allows the tartness of the rhubarb and the natural sweetness of the golden pineapple to shine through.

The amount of jam this particular recipe yields makes enough for 10 hand pies, plus an extra 250 ml jar. Spread that on toast, use it as an ice cream topping like my cousin Celia, or eat it by the spoonful because it’s THAT good.

Of course, you can also use whatever jam you have on hand.

Such adorable little pies.

Yes, you CAN make great homemade pie crust!

Here’s the thing: if you can make a good pie dough, no matter what it ends up looking like, it’s one of the most satisfying things you can bake.

This brings me to hand pies. I love them. They are perfect little pockets that lower the stakes of making pie. If you mess one up, you still have nine more chances to make a better one.

You can eat these baked hand pies without any dishes, so they’re a great treat to take on picnics or pass out at parties. Best of all, you can make a little pie just for yourself. Have another the next day for breakfast. You have my explicit permission to eat pie for breakfast.

Tips for pie dough

There are a few easy tricks to make a good pie dough. Using half butter and half shortening makes for optimal flakiness.

Make sure the fats are very cold, and only use enough ice water to bring the dough together. The trick here is not to overwork the dough. It’s okay if it is a little crumbly, so long as it holds together.

Chilling the dough before rolling is essential. Be sure to take the time to do so. It also helps to chill the cut out pie rounds for 15 minutes before assembling the baked hand pies.

Even if your pies look a little messy, I promise they will still be a rustic and delicious treat. Happy hand pie-making!

Like this Baked Hand Pies recipe?

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Heavenly Rhubarb Hand Pies. Made with an easy, flaky homemade pie dough and a family favourite pineapple strawberry rhubarb jam. Perfectly portioned and using only a few simple ingredients, even beginner bakers can master these adorable little pies.

• 1/2 cup very cold butter, cut in small cubes
• 1/2 cup very cold vegetable shortening, cut in small cubes
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup ice water, use only enough to make a dough form.
• 1 tbsp plain white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Heavenly Rhubarb Jam

• 3 cups diced rhubarb, fresh or frozen
• 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, diced small
• One 49g package No Sugar Needed Pectin (I use Bernardin Brand)
• 2/3 cup sugar, more or less to taste

To Finish the Hand Pies

• 1 egg + 1 tbsp water, to use as an egg wash
• 2 tbsp turbinado sugar, to sprinkle on top

Instructions

• Pour vanilla and vinegar into ice cold water, then pour over the flour mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form.
• Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible. It’s okay if it looks a little crumbly, as long as it holds together.
• Divide the dough into 2 balls, flatten them into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You will use both of these rounds for the hand pies. It helps to work in 2 “batches” of dough to keep it cold.

To prepare the Heavenly Rhubarb Jam

• After this time when the fruit has broken down, add ⅔ cup sugar and boil hard for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• Allow the jam to cool completely before assembling the pies. You can put it in the fridge once it has cooled off a little.

To assemble the Hand Pies

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Take one round of dough out of the fridge. You may need to let it rest for a few minutes in order to roll it out.
• Using a 3-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Roll the scraps out and cut again.
• Place the first round of pie dough circles in the fridge. Repeat the previous steps for the second round of dough, making sure to put the circles in the fridge once you’ve finished cutting them out.
• With a knife, cut a small heart into the other half of the circles, or simply make an X-shaped slit. These will be the tops of the hand pies.
• Place the tops of the pies onto the bottom layers, and use your fingers to press the edges closed. Using a fork, press along the edges of the pies to fully seal them shut.
• Repeat the assembly steps for the second round of pie dough circles which have been chilling in the fridge.
• On a parchment-lined aluminum baking sheet, brush the hand pies with the egg wash and sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on how brown you like your pie crust.

Notes

Bake times will vary based on your oven. I usually bake these hand pies for a minimum of 25 minutes.

Yield

1Amount Per Serving 17g 8g 0g 7g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

Assembling The Hand Pies

Don’t feel intimidated, the whole point of making hand pies is because they’re super rough and simple to make! And of course, you can pick them up from your hands and eat them.

You don’t need any fancy equipment to assemble these hand pies. All you need is something that can cut circles out of your pie dough. I used a cookie cutter but a jar lid of the right size would work just as well. You can pick any size you want, really. I usually keep one serving per person, but you can also make them smaller so that people can try different flavors.

To assemble the hand pies, roll out the pie dough to 2mm thickness in between 2 baking sheets, then cut circles from the pie dough, two per hand pie (bottom and top). If your dough has become soft while rolling, pop it into the fridge for 10 minutes until it becomes a little stiff, this will make it easier for you to cut and seal the dough.

Place the filling (in this case, the peanut butter and jam) on one circle. You can add as much or as little filling as per your preference, but don’t fill it too much or it might leak while baking. Next, place the second pie dough circle on top of the bottom one with the filling. Press down the sides of both circles together to seal them, then further seal them by crimping the edges with a fork.

It’s really that simple to make hand pies of any flavor! And trust me, these will be an absolute hit at your next brunch or breakfast party!

Ready to make them? Let’s get started!

PS: I always measure ingredients in grams, never in cups. Using a measuring scale is the only way to bake accurately. Cups are very unreliable and can give different measurements, so I would suggest you buy a measuring scale before you start baking! If you can’t get your hands on one, you can use the online tools for converting grams into cups, however, I do not guarantee their accuracy.

PPS: if you notice a * after any word, it means that there are additional tips about it after the recipe.

• unsalted butter, frozen and cut into squares
• water, with extra ice
• apple cider vinegar

Peanut Butter and Jam Filling

• smooth peanut butter
• strawberry jam, storebought or homemade

Topping

• In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients – flour, salt, and sugar.245 gs all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 20 gs granulated sugar
• Place the cold butter* on top of the dry ingredients, then rub it into the flour mixture using your fingers until there are flat, irregular strips of butter in the dough. Don’t overwork the mixture*. If the butter is getting too soft, let it chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before continuing.170 gs unsalted butter, frozen and cut into squares
• Combine the water (with ice cubes) and the apple cider vinegar. Start adding the cold liquid mixture* into the dough, a little at a time, and mix it in. Add the liquid gradually until the dough just holds its shape when pressed together. You will likely not need to use the entire liquid mix, make sure you are adding it a little at a time.50 ml water, with extra ice
• Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and press it together gently to form a rough rectangle, a few crumbs and uneven edges are okay. Cut the rectangle into three parts and stack them on top of each other and press down on them using your palms and create a new rectangle. Press any crumbly bits into the dough then repeat the process. This creates a faux lamination in the dough and results in flaky, crunchy layers.100 ml apple cider vinegar
• Divide the dough into two and wrap each part tightly in cling film. Let the dough chill in the fridge for at least one hour before rolling it. You can freeze the dough and use it for up to 3 months.
• To roll out the pastry dough, place it in between two baking sheets, then roll it to 2-3mm thickness. Cut circles out of the sheet of dough using a circular cookie cutter or a jar lid (2 circles for each pie).
• Assemble the pie: Add around 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on one circle for each pie, then top it with a tablespoon of jam. Place the other circle on top of the filling as closely aligned as possible with the bottom as possible dough ring. Seal the pie by pressing the edges of both circles together, then further seal them using the edge of a fork. 200 gs smooth peanut butter, 200 gs strawberry jam, storebought or homemade
• Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle granulated white sugar on top. Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown. Serve while still hot. But be careful, the filling might be too hot!1 egg, for egg wash, 20 gs granulated sugar

The pie dough can be made ahead and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. If using frozen dough, thaw the dough in the fridge overnight before using.

Tips & Tricks:

• Using cold butter: The cold butter is what helps creates the flakiness in the pie crust. The cold chunks of butter in the dough melt while baking, creating layers and air pockets that result in a crunchy, flaky dough.
• Don’t overwork the mixture: The key to a good pie crust is to work it as less as possible. The dough should still have chunks of cold butter at the end to create flakiness in the pie crust. You want to minimize working the dough as much as possible because the butter will melt from the heat of your hands. Mix it till it JUST holds its shape.
• Use a minimum amount of liquid: This recipe uses apple cider and water to bring the dough together. The liquid ingredients enable gluten formation in the dough, which you want to keep at a minimum or the dough will end up being more like bread than pie crust. Add the water slowly to the dough, 1-2 tbsps at a time, and knead it till the dough JUST holds its shape together. A few crumbs are okay, the dough should still be on the dry side.
• Chill the dough: For at least one hour. This allows the dry ingredients to absorb the moisture properly and stops the dough from cracking while you are rolling it out.
• Roll the pie dough between two sheets of baking/parchment paper: This makes it easier to roll the pie dough as it avoids the dough sticking on the rolling pin, and also makes it easier to move the rolled dough from one place to another.
• Keep the dough cold at all times: If at any point during the kneading or rolling process it feels like the butter or the dough is becoming too soft, let it chill for 10-15 minutes in the fridge to cool it back up. This ensures that the butter does not melt into the dough.

Until next time.

Try Our other Halloween Recipe Ideas

• Halloween Pizza Ideas
• Pumpkin Bread Bowl
• Corn Pop Treats
• Tasty Pumpkin Spice Twist
• Bisquick Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredient Notes and SUbstitutions

• Pie crusts – I’m using a refrigerated pie crust for this recipe, but you could use your favorite homemade crust if you prefer.
• Jam – You can use any type of red berry jam in these hand pies, such as cherry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, or a combination.
• Egg – Beaten with a splash of water. This helps to seal the hand pies and also helps them to brown in the oven.
• Milk – This helps to thin the frosting so it is the desired consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you stop them from bubbling over?

The amount of jam to dough will vary based on your molds. The goal is enough jam that the tart doesn’t taste too doughy, but not so much that it bubbles over. 3/4 of the way to the top of the mold is a good estimate. If using small shapes, press them lightly into the jam at this time.

How do you keep the dough from shrinking?

To reduce shrinkage you can allow the pastry dough to rest adequately before using. Form the dough into a rough ball and place in the fridge (or a very cool area) to rest for at least half an hour. Then roll out your pastry and place it in the tart pan. Then put the pan in the fridge (or freezer) to chill thoroughly.

Using a pre-made shortcrust dough is often an easier way to avoid shrinkage because you don’t tend to overwork the dough. Overworking dough can cause shrinkage

Which is best pastry dough between puffed pastry, pie dough, or phyllo (filo) dough?

Shortcrust (or shortbread) dough is the easiest dough to work with and it is sturdy enough to hold the denser jams. It is buttery and slightly sweet and is often called “pie dough” in the grocery store.

Puffed pastry dough can be used in tarts, but it is much lighter than the shortcrust dough. When it’s baked it separates into airy, flaky layers and a crunchy exterior. I found it to be too light for jam-filled mini-tarts and it burns quickly.

In contrast to puff pastry, phyllo dough has almost no fat, it’s mostly flour and water and can dry out easily. It is very thin sheets and is typically used for savory dishes. Phyllo gets crisp and flaky when baked but it doesn’t have the same rich, airy quality that puff pastry or shortcrust pastry has.

Pie dough – You have options

• You can use leftover pie dough
• Make pie dough just for these tarts
• Buy a store bought pie crust

Jam or jelly – just use your favorite

When making pies you usually have scrapes of dough from cutting the excess from the sides of a pie, this dough is perfect for making these cookies.

Or, if you only need dough for a single-crust pie, make a double-crust pie dough recipe and use the extra dough for the cookies.

You can definitely buy a store-bought pie crust and roll that out to make these pinwheels, and I have done that, but honestly, a buttery homemade pie dough tastes so much better.

If you need a pie crust recipe this is my recipe for a Buttery Flakey Pie Crust, it is easy to make and is delicious. Or use the enriched pie dough recipe in the recipe card.

Welcome to 2022’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event!

#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife . This event is an online, week-long event that is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats and recipes from some fantastic Halloween loving bloggers!

Make Sure to check out all of the fun Halloween recipes that we’re sharing this week!

Check out all of these great #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes for today

These mummy hand pies are a quick and easy 5-ingredient treat perfect for Halloween. Crisp pie crust is filled with berry jam and topped with a sweet icing glaze.

Dessert, Snack, Holiday

• 3″ gingerbread man cookie cutter
• ziploc or piping bag

• refrigerated pie crusts 4 crusts total
• red berry jam (any type of jam, like mixed berry, raspberry, cherry, blackberry, blueberry)
• beaten with a splash of water

Baking the Hand Pies

• Preheat the oven to 375ºF and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Unroll the refrigerated pie crusts onto a very lightly floured surface and cut out as many mummies as you can (you should be able to get 10 per pie crust for a total of 40 mummies).
• (Optional) Gather all of the leftover pie crust together into a ball and roll it into a 1⁄8” thick rectangle. Cut out as many mummies as you can again (this time you should be able to get another 12 mummies).
• Place as many mummies as will fit on the baking sheet, making sure to leave at least an inch of space between each one.
• Fill the center of each mummy with 1-2 teaspoons of red berry jam.
• Lightly brush the egg wash around the edge of each mummy. Place another mummy on top and press the edges to seal in the jam. If you want to crimp the edges of each mummy with a fork, feel free to– but if you pinch the seams to seal in the filling, crimping isn’t required.
• Brush the top of each mummy with egg wash and then poke each mummy with a fork to create a vent.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the mummies are golden brown.
• Allow the mummies to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting the Hand Pies

• When you’re ready to decorate, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. The mixture should be thick but pipeable. If it is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a little more milk. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the end cut off.
• Drizzle the frosting over each mummy.
• To make the eyes, place any remaining frosting in a small bowl and add one drop of black food coloring. Mix to combine and then transfer to a piping bag and pipe two small eyes on each mummy.

• We used refrigerated pie crust in this recipe, but you could use your favorite homemade crust.
• You could use any red berry jam in these hand pies– or mixed berry, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, or a combination.
• Egg helps seal the hand pies and helps them brown in the oven.
• Powdered sugar gives sweetness and structure to our frosting.
• Milk helps thin the frosting to our desired consistency.

Let us know what you think!

2-Ingredient Jam Tarts

Easy, delicious British jam tarts made with only 2 ingredients. Use your favorite jam or preserve and fancy it up with dough cut-outs.

• Pillsbury pie crust dough
• for the egg wash on the dough (optional)

• Preheat oven to 375° F. Remove on of the pie crust rolls from the box unroll onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll the pie dough out to be thinner. Perhaps an additional inch or two in diameter.I/2 package Pillsbury pie crust dough
• Use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the individual molds in the tart pan and press down firmly as many times as necessary to fill your tart pan. Use the small cookie cutters to cut out small shapes to place on top of jam.
• Use a thin stainless steel spatula to lift the round dough pieces into the tart molds. Press gently into each mold, shaping it to your desired shape.
• Whisk the egg and use a basting brush to spread the egg wash around the rim of the dough and onto the center shapes. This is to add the golden color, not for taste. You can also just use the egg white, or the egg yolk with a bit of water. Each egg wash gives a slightly different browning color.
• Bake for 15 minutes, checking to see if jam is bubbling over. Remove when dough is golden brown. It may take 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven and how thin you rolled out the dough. Cool thoroughly, the jam gets very hot!

If you tried this recipe, please give it a 5-star rating! To do this, just click on the stars above.

Valentine’s Jam Tarts – Cooking with Kids

What is the difference between a pasty and a hand pie?

A hand pie is a pastry pie that can be held in hand. A pasty (or pastie) has a thicker crust filled with sweet or savory fillings (like meats).

How do you keep blackberry hand pies from getting soggy?

For crispy mummy pies, ensure the berry jam filling is thick and not runny. If you are using fresh berry jam, drain it well before adding it to the pie crust.

What’s the difference between a hand pie and a turnover?

A hand pie is usually made with pie crust with a sweet fruit filling, like mixed berry. They are small enough to fit into the hand to eat. Turnovers are typically made with puff pastry, thin layered sheets of flakey dough, and filled with sweet or savory fillings. They are usually triangular shaped as if folded over.

How can I keep my filling from running out?

Brush the edges of the pie crust with a beaten egg before adding the filling. This will help keep the filling and crust separate and prevent juice from seeping through. Also, crimp the edges of the pie crust cutouts to prevent the filling from running.

Can I use fresh berries for these hand pies?

We do not recommend using fresh or frozen berries as filling for the hand pies. Frozen or fresh berries are too runny, unlike a thick mixed berry type jam.

More Recipes Made with Jam

Easy 10-minute Raspberry Trifle

Cheese and Jam Pairings for Charcuterie Boards

Jam-filled, Chocolate Dipped Cookies

How to Use Jams in Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Cocktails

Low Carb Crustless Apricot Frangipane Tart

A low carb dessert that is awesome is this no-bake low-carb lemon-orange pie with a nut crust.

What is the Best Jam to Use?

Use your favorite jams. Because I was originally making these mini tarts for Easter, I chose a range of marmalades with their citrus colors, For Valentines Day I used a range of red jams (raspberry, strawberry and cherry).

Here are the flavors of jams that I used. Just make sure to use some quality jam for these if you want to make them special.

These not so spooky Voodoo Doll Hand Pies filled with jam and are all in good fun, ready to take a stabbing or two in the heart.

To start off Halloween Treats Week I made these Voodoo Doll Hand Pies.

If they look kind of familiar it’s because back in 2020 I made Voodoo Doll Cookies.

Cookies that Sprinkle Bakes first made years ago and I fell in love with them.

They were so fun that I decided I wanted to make them but in a different way.

This year I made them into hand pies.

Which I will admit was a touch harder than the cookies.

Because pie crust is flaky.

So a chunk of them falling off really isn’t a bad thing. 😀

Don’t worry it’s all in good fun.

If you are not familiar with Halloween Treats Week it was started by Angie of Big Bear’s Wife.

Angie LOVES Halloween.

Me, not so much.

Because of that years ago I joined so that it would force me to get creative.

It hasn’t made me love Halloween but it has had me look forward to Halloween Treats Week each year.

Just like the previous years, I will be doing ALL six days.

So all new recipes coming your way this week.

How To Make Pie Crust Cookies

Step 1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Step 2. On a lightly floured surface roll the pie dough into a round. The size will depend on how much dough you have.

If you are using pie dough scrapes bring them all together in a ball and roll that out.

Step 3. Spoon small dollops of the jam or jelly on top of the rolled out dough and spread the filling close to the edges, but leave the edges plain.

Tip ~ You do not need a lot of jam. When you roll the dough that will spread the jam even more.

Jam tarts recipe

Step 3. Tightly roll the dough into a log like you would for cinnamon rolls.

Rolled pie crust tarts

Step 4. Place the dough seam side down on a cutting board, then cut ½” thick slices and place the slices on the prepared baking sheets. You can sprinkle the tops with sugar.

Ready to bake tarts

Step 5. Bake the pie dough tarts for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown.

Step 6. Cool the tarts on the baking sheet, then store them in an airtight container for several days.

More recipes to make and bake

Halloween Cookie Cutters

Note: I’m using the second largest size from this set of cookie cutters.

Recipe Variations

• Blackberry Hand Pies: use blackberry jam as a filling on your hand pies recipe. Or even use different kinds of berries in the filling, such as mixed berry, blueberry, raspberry, olallieberry, strawberry jam for the handpies.
• Add a few drops of food coloring to the frosting to give the hand pies even more of a Halloween theme.
• Use different flavored jams in the center of the mummy pies. You could even use chocolate spread or peanut butter!

• Decorate the hand pie mummies with Halloween sprinkles instead of frosting on the top crust.
• Sprinkle your berry hand pies with coarse sugar or granulated sugar to give them a sweet and sugary taste.
• You can also add some lemon zest to the berries for a tart flavor.

What is the Best Pastry Dough to Use?

Jam tarts are a classic British dessert. Traditionally the dough is a “shortcrust dough”, which is quite easy to make actually. Americans refer to this pastry dough as shortbread dough.

Because I wanted to make this kid-friendly and super simple, I opted for ready-made or store bought pastry dough.

I tried it with store-bought “puff” pastry dough and found that too delicate for the jams. What seemed to work best was a refrigerated pie dough. The goal was to find a ready-made dough as close to shortbread as possible.

The winner was a refrigerated pie crust dough from Pillsbury.

If you prefer to make your own shortcrust dough, it is actually pretty simple. Here is the best DIY recipe I have found for shortcrust dough for jam tarts.

Modify Store-Bought Dough for Tarts

The only modification I made to the ready-made pastry dough for these tarts was to roll it out thinner than it came in the package. The packaged roll was for a pie, and these tarts only have a tablespoon or so of jam in them, so you don’t want the jam overwhelmed by a thick dough. (my mom asked me how I got the crust so delicate 🙂

Other Fillings to Substitute for Jam

Of course there are other fillings that are popular to use in the “jam” tarts, although jams are the simplest filling. Here are a few other ideas:

• lemon curds
• nutella
• fresh fruit
• savory ingredients that you might use in a meat pot pie
• ready-made cherry pie filling
• sweet potato pie filling
• pecan pie filling

Want to see some of the other Halloween Treats I’ve made in the past?

Rice Krispie Treat Haunted Houses

Halloween Candy Cracker Toffee

Candy Corn White Russian

Haunted House Layer Cake

• 1 package store bought pie crust (the kind that have two pie crust in them) I used Pillsbury
• 1 egg, whisked
• Jam of your choice, preferably red or dark in color, I used blackberry
• 2 TBSP pre-made fondant
• food edible pens
• Red Sanding Sugar
• Red Heart Cocktail Sticks

How to make Halloween Hand Pies

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Then, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Unroll the refrigerated pie crusts onto a very lightly floured surface. Cut out as many mummies as you can using a knife or cookie cutter (you should be able to get 10 per pie crust for a total of 40 mummies).

Optional: Then gather all of the leftover hand pie dough crust together into a ball. Roll it out until it is 1/8 inch thick. Cut out as many mummies as you can (you should be able to get another 12 mummies).

Place as many mummies as will fit on the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave at least an inch of space between each one.

Fill the center of each mummy with 1-2 teaspoons of red berry mixture. This will give the mummy a nice flavor and make it look delicious.

Brush a thin layer of egg wash around the edge of the pie crust cut outs. Place another mummy on top and press the edges together to seal in the jam. If you want, you can crimp the edges of each mummy with a fork. But if you pinch the seams to seal in the filling, crimping isn’t required.

Brush the tops of each mummy with some egg wash. This will help the sugar stick to the dough. Then use a fork to poke some holes in each mummy, so that the air can escape while it is baking and it doesn’t explode.

Bake the mummies for 13-15 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Let the mummies cool completely before frosting them.

Frosting the Halloween Hand Pies

When you are ready to decorate, mix together the powdered sugar and milk in a medium bowl. The mixture should be thick but you should be able to pipe it. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add more milk.

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the end cut off. This will make it easier to put the frosting on the cake.

Frost each mummy with a drizzle of icing.

To make the eyes, mix any remaining frosting with black food coloring in a small bowl. Then transfer the frosting to a piping bag and pipe two small eyes on each mummy.

Allow the frosting to set for about 20 minutes, and then enjoy. If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.

We have more Halloween ideas for you! Try our Halloween pizza ideas, Chex mix with M&Ms, and Halloween Snack Mix!

Pie Crust Tarts with Blackberry Jam

These golden flaky tarts have humble beginnings by using the leftover pie dough. Just reroll the scrapes and spread with jam, roll up the dough, cut and bake. So simple. Sometimes you need a full batch of tarts so I am including my favorite pie dough recipe so you can have plenty.

Flaky Pie Crust

• cold and diced
• solid vegetable shortening
• or flavor of your choice

Making the pie dough

• In a large bowl mix the flour and salt together.
• Cut in the cold diced butter and the cold vegetable shortening into the flour using a pastry cutter or two knives. The butter and shortening should be the size of peas.
• Mix in the egg, water, and vinegar with a fork until the dough comes together. At this stage, you may need to add additional water in small amounts to bring the dough together.
• Turn the dough onto a floured board and bring together in a ball. Cut the ball in half. At this point, you can wrap and chill the dough or continue on to assembling the tarts.

Assembling the Jelly Roll Tarts

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare two baking sheets with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
• Spread your favorite jam or other fillings of your choice over the dough. I suggest you spread this fairly thin to be able to roll the dough without the filling coming out.
• Roll up the dough starting on the long side. Turn the seam to the bottom. Next gently cut into ½” slices and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Cool the tarts on the baking sheet.
• Keep these tarts in a sealed container for several days.

If using scraps of pie dough the number of tarts will vary according to how much pie dough you have.

Just gather all the scrapes of dough and shape into a ball, flatten and then roll the dough as shown above.  I

The nutrition is based on a full pie dough recipe.

Let us know how it was!

Don’t forget to pin this to your Pinterest boards for later.

Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog.  Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days, I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? Please visit my about page for information, and I’ll be happy to help!

About Jere’

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending.  Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.

How to Make the Hand Pies

Thaw the pie crust on the counter for about 10 minutes. You need it to be pliable for cutting out shapes.

Line two large baking trays with parchment and cut out 8 gingerbread people using a large gingerbread cutter.

Lay out half of them on parchment lined trays and brush them around the edges with the egg wash (I just use my finger).

Pipe the center of the men with jam, I like to make a stick figure using the jam.

Don’t fill with too much jam as it will spill out.

Press down the sides where you egg washed.

Seal with either a fork or your fingers. I did fingers an only had leakage on one.

Before you bake the pies I used a coffee stirrer/straw to poke holes before I baked.

If you aren’t going to use the licorice for hair you can skip this part.

While some closed up a little, it made it easier for me to remake the hole once out of the oven.

Bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool completely before making them into voodoo dolls.

To Make the Voodoo Doll Hand Pies

For a step by step photo of each step I suggest going to the Voodoo Doll Cookie Post.

Once they are baked off the holes are there for the licorice hair.

The original used black licorice laces but I can’t stand that flavor and went with Grape Licorice Laces.

Which I’m glad I did because I liked how the looked and I ate the leftovers.

Once you have all the licorice hair through the holes gather the laces together and gently tie with another lace.

If you pull too tight the licorice will break so be gentle.

Once that is done you break out the fondant.

I don’t usually work with fondant so I was lazy and just bought some.

If you are good at making some then go for it.

Cut 4 round pieces of fondant using the large end of a small piping tip or use a small bottle cap.

Use a food marker lid or other smaller lid to make an impression inside each circle.

This gives it the button look.

Attach the fondant button eye to the cookie by using a little corn syrup as glue.

Leave the corn syrup out as you will be using it again in a little bit.

Here you have two choices.

You can use a thin paintbrush and some black liquid food coloring.

Or you can do what I did and use a food decorating pens.

Sprinkle Bakes is a painter so she painted them on.

I don’t have that steady of a hand or skill so I’m all about the pen.

You make an X on the button eye and one on the hand pie.

Then using the paintbrush or the food pen make stitches on the hand pies body.

One long stitch down the middle.

Then two for the arms.

Two for the feet.

Now grab your corn syrup and a tiny paintbrush.

Paint a heart onto the left side of the doll’s chest.

This is kind of hard to see when it’s clear.

So later I actually put a drop of red food coloring in there to help guide me to see where it was going.

Cover the painted corn syrup heart with red sanding sugar.

You can use your finger or I used a fondant button I screwed up on and press the sugar into the hand pie.

Turn the hand pie onto its side and tap off excess sanding sugar.

You should hopefully see a heart.

Good and ready to stab

Sprinkle Bakes make her own stick pins using Mike and Ike’s and toothpicks.

I was lazy (again) and bought Red Heart Cocktail Sticks.

They were longer than what I wanted so I cut them down.

The little heart twists off pretty easily and I just reattached it with some corn syrup after I cut the stick down.

Make sure to not chop off the end that is pointy.

You need the pointy end to stab.

Obviously these take some time.

But after making them it was totally worth it.

While I’m not skilled at decorating so I was SUPER happy with how they turned out.

P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook.

Fancy Trick or Treat Snacks Made Easy

Halloween is right around the corner, and that means it’s time to start thinking about all of the fun treats you can make! These hand pies are perfect for a party or a quick snack to add to your Halloween dessert table. And, they’re easy to make and taste delicious!

These mummy hand pies filled with berry filling are sure to be a hit with your Halloween guests! And they are made with a store-bought pie crust, so these cut outs come together quickly.

The key to making these hand pies look like mummies is in the pie crust cut outs. Simply use a cookie cutter to cut out out the strips of dough. Then add the raspberry jam (or any jam) filling, top with another mummy handpie cutout, crimp, then brush with an egg wash.

And the best part is that you can use any kind of berry jam filling that you like!

I used raspberry jam for this pastry dessert. But feel free to use whatever you have on hand like mixed berry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, olallieberry, strawberry, etc for these pies.

These little berry Halloween hand pies have all the flavor of a berry pie, but they’re individually sized mini pies and ideal for handing out to party guests or little trick-or-treaters.

So, what are you waiting for? Give them a try today!

The pie crust is definitely the most important part of any pie or galette. If the crust is not crunchy and flaky, your dessert will turn into a pile of apple mush, we don’t want that. So it’s essential to make sure that you are using a pie dough that will give you the perfect amount of flakiness and crunchiness and won’t collapse over time. And boy do I have the perfect recipe for you.

Now, making pie dough is a rather technical task. So let me take you through a few pointers that will help you through the process –

• The butter HAS to be cold – the cold butter is what helps creates the flakiness in the pie crust. The cold chunks of butter in the dough melt while baking, creating layers and air pockets that result in a crunchy, flaky dough.
• Don’t overwork the mixture – the key to a good pie crust is to work it as less as possible. The dough should still have chunks of cold butter at the end to create flakiness in the pie crust. You want to minimize working the dough as much as possible because the butter will melt from the heat of your hands. Mix it till it JUST holds its shape.
• Use a minimum amount of liquid – this recipe uses apple cider and water to bring the dough together. The liquid ingredients enable gluten formation in the dough, which you want to keep at a minimum or the dough will end up being more like bread than pie crust. Add the water slowly to the dough, 1-2 tbsps at a time, and knead it till the dough JUST holds its shape together. A few crumbs are okay, the dough should still be on the dry side.
• Chill the dough – for at least one hour. This allows the dry ingredients to absorb the moisture properly and stops the dough from cracking while you are rolling it out.
• Roll the pie dough between two sheets of baking/parchment paper – this makes it easier to roll the pie dough as it avoids the dough sticking on the rolling pin, and also makes it easier to move the rolled dough from one place to another.
• Keep the dough cold at all times – if at any point during the kneading or rolling process it feels like the butter or the dough is becoming too soft, let it chill for 10-15 minutes in the fridge to cool it back up. This ensures that the butter does not melt into the dough.

What really makes this pie dough recipe different from others is the lamination process. If you aren’t aware – lamination is the process of layering any dough before baking to create flaky layers. It’s commonly used in pastries like croissants to give them that honeycomb effect inside. Scheck has used a faux lamination technique in this recipe that’s quick and easy and takes the flakiness of the pie crust to the absolute next level.

Here’s how you do it. Once your dough is done, place it on a baking sheet and form a rough rectangle (again, make sure you are not overworking the dough). Cut the rectangle and three parts, then place each piece on top of the other and stack all three, and press on top using your hands. Repeat this process twice. This will create a lot of layers in your pie dough and result in that flaky, crunchy pie crust.

Don’t forget to let the dough chill for at least one hour before rolling and baking it. This recipe can be used for making any pie, and can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Love pies? Try this easy Apple Galette recipe!