Jack-o'-Lantern Ham and Cheese Pies

There’s just a couple of days left until Halloween and I’ve got one more recipe to squeeze in for you! How fun are these Jack-o’-Lantern Ham and Cheese Pies?!

Last year, I made the jack-o’-lantern quesadillas and had the idea this year to make these hand pies!

These are generally pretty simple to make. The part that takes the longest is “carving” the jack-o’-lantern into the pie crusts. If you trust your kiddos with a serrated knife, they can help with this one!

I absolutely took a short cut with these guys by using store-bought pie crusts. You are obviously free to make your own pie crusts if you’d prefer, but the store-bought saves so much time!

Jack-o'-Lantern Ham and Cheese Pies

One thing to note about this recipe is that the size of the cookie cutter that you use will obviously dictate how many pies you can get out of this recipe. In the photos in this post, I used a pumpkin cookie cutter that was almost 6-inches. I recommend using larger cutters if you want to make pies that are about the size of a sandwich.

If you’d rather serve these as an appetizer or small bite, then you can certainly use smaller cutters. You will just use smaller pieces of ham and cheese, and in addition, less baking time.

The trick with these guys is that you need to cover the cheese the best you can with the ham slices and to seal the sides carefully to hold that cheese in the pie while they are baking. As you can see from my photos, I did have some cheese leakage, but it wasn’t very much. But, this is why you must first layer the cheese THEN the ham slices on top, otherwise, the cheese will ooze out of the pie.

I am loving these pies for a fun Halloween lunch or a quick and easy dinner served with some cozy tomato soup before trick-or-treating!

Jack-o'-Lantern Ham and Cheese Pies

Jack-o'-Lantern Ham and Cheese Pies
Yield: Approx. 8-12 pies

Jack-o'-Lantern Ham and Cheese Pies

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

A fun and festive Halloween appetizer or lunch!

Ingredients

  • 1 package of refrigerated pie crusts
  • approx. 2/3 pound thinly sliced ham
  • cheddar cheese slices
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper. Carefully unroll pie crusts on lightly floured surface. Use pumpkin cookie cutters to cut out the pumpkin shapes. Remember you will need two pieces per pie.
  2. Use a serrated knife to then 'carve' desired jack-o'-lantern face onto half of the cut-out pieces.
  3. For larger pies, you will need one large slice of ham and one slice of cheddar cheese  (half of each for smaller pies). Take a slice of the cheddar cheese and place on a non-carved pumpkin. Place a slice of the ham on top, covering the cheese the best that you can, but leaving about 1/4-inch around the edges. Place a carved dough piece on top. Use a fork to seal the edges all the way around. Repeat with remaining dough.
  4. Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush some of the egg on top of the dough for each pie.
  5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the pie crusts are golden on top and underneath. Serve warm.

Notes

  • How many pies you get out of this recipe will obviously depend on the size of the cookie cutters you use. I used fairly large ones, almost 6 inches for the pies pictured. You can also make smaller ones if you want to serve these as an appetizer instead.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1 pie (if divided into 10)

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 191Total Fat: 13.7gSaturated Fat: 7.5gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 603mgCarbohydrates: 4.2gFiber: .4gSugar: .2gProtein: 12.8g

Jack-o'-Lantern Ham and Cheese Pies