Description
These Vegan Blueberry Ghost Hand Pies are a delightful and spooky treat perfect for Halloween or any fun occasion. Made with vegan and gluten-free puff pastry, filled with a luscious homemade blueberry compote, and topped with a sweet lemon glaze, these hand pies are flaky, fruity, and irresistibly cute.
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry
- 2 sheets of puff pastry (JusRoll vegan & gluten-free puff pastry sheets)
Blueberry Filling
- 100g fresh or frozen blueberries
- 50g caster or granulated sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or cornflour
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (divided: 1 tsp for filling, 1 tsp for glaze)
Glaze
- 50g icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (approximate, to mix with icing sugar)
- Dairy-free milk, for brushing
Instructions
- Prepare Pastry: Pre-heat your oven to 180°C fan. Line two baking trays with grease-proof paper. Unroll the puff pastry sheets directly on their baking paper and use a rolling pin to smooth out any wrinkles in the pastry.
- Cut Ghost Shapes: Use a ghost-shaped cookie cutter to punch out shapes from the pastry. Alternatively, use a template or knife to cut ghost shapes by hand. Roll out the scraps to cut a few additional ghosts.
- Create Faces: On half of the ghost shapes, use the small end of a medium piping tip to cut out two eyes and the larger end to cut out a mouth to create the ghost faces. These will be the top layers of the hand pies. Chill all cut pastries in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to firm up.
- Make Blueberry Filling: Place the blueberries in a medium saucepan with sugar, cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Heat over medium-high, stirring gently but continuously for 5–8 minutes, until the mixture thickens and some berries remain whole. Remove from heat and cool until jelly-like for easier filling.
- Assemble Pies: Spoon blueberry filling onto the center of the plain ghost shapes (without faces). Brush water around the edges of these pastries to seal. Place a ghost pastry with the face on top and press edges together firmly. Crimp edges with a fork to secure and prevent filling leakage.
- Prepare for Baking: Brush the tops with dairy-free milk and sprinkle with extra sugar to encourage browning and add a slight crunch.
- Bake: Bake pies on trays in batches of 5–6 in the middle of the oven for 15–18 minutes, until golden-brown and flaky. Remove and cool slightly on trays, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Make Glaze and Finish: Mix icing sugar and remaining lemon juice to a runny consistency and drizzle over cooled pies. Let glaze set for 5 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy: Serve these charming vegan blueberry ghost hand pies as a festive snack or dessert. They are perfect for sharing and celebrating.
Notes
- Use vegan and gluten-free puff pastry to keep this recipe allergy-friendly and suitable for vegan diets.
- The blueberry filling thickens as it cools; ensure it’s cool before filling the pastries to avoid soggy bottoms.
- Do not overfill the pastries to prevent the filling from oozing out during baking.
- You can substitute the ghost cookie cutter with any fun shape for versatility.
- Storage: Keep leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a low oven to re-crisp the pastry.
- If you want a gluten-containing version, you can use regular puff pastry.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 hand pie (approx. 80g)
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
