Pumpkin Cream Hand Pies are a blend of pumpkin pie and cheesecake right at your fingertips, deep-fried in a homemade pie crust until golden brown. I love the combination so much that I also have a full-sized Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Hand Pies
Hand pies are a ‘grab and go’ kind of dessert that give you all the flavors of a pie but in a convenient hand-held variety. These pumpkin cream cheese hand pies have to be one of my favorite hand pie recipes (and I have a few)! And, the vanilla glaze on top brings them to a whole new level of sweetness.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Pie Crust: If you make my no-fail pie crust, you will have the perfect amount of dough for this recipe (since it makes two pie crusts). You can also use store-bought.
Pumpkin Pie Filling: Look for pumpkin pie filling, not pumpkin puree. Pumpkin Pie Filling has spices and sweeteners added whereas pumpkin puree is cooked pumpkin that is blended or mashed into a smooth texture. I also have a recipe for pumpkin pie filling that you can find in my Puff Pastry with Pumpkin Pie Filling.
Oil: Use canola or vegetable oil for frying. But, don’t throw away the leftover oil; check out my How to Clarify Used Cooking Oil so you can use it again.
Can I Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Hand Pies Without the Glaze?
Well, you could…but, at least try one with the glaze; you will want to add it to all of them! And, we tested a few options from a brown sugar glaze, cinnamon, and sugar mixture, to a cream cheese glaze before we decided on the vanilla. The first runner-up, if you still aren’t sold on the vanilla glaze, is my cream cheese glaze from my Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls.
Can I Bake These in the Oven?
Sure! If you want to save on the mess of frying these in oil, you can certainly bake them in the oven. To do that, first, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, add the assembled hand pies onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown, at 400°F.
Air Fryer Pumpkin Cream Hand Pies
Another option amazing when making these hand pies is to make them in the air fryer. To do this, assemble the pies as instructed. Then, place them into the basket of the air fryer and spray the tops with cooking spray. Air fry for 6-8 minutes at 360°F.
How to Store
Store the cooked pumpkin hand pies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. They can also be stored in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for 4-5 days.
More Hand Pies
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Hand Pies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Hand Pies
- 1 homemade pie crust, or 2 boxes store-bought pie crust
- 2 cups (490 g) pumpkin pie filling, homemade or store bought
- canola or vegetable oil, for frying
Cream Cheese
- 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
Vanilla Glaze
- 6 cups (750 g) confectioners' sugar
- 7-9 tablespoons (105-135 g) whole milk, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Hand Pies
- Roll out the pie crust to ⅛-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut the crust into 4-5-inch rounds. (You should get 26-28 pie crust rounds.)
Cream Cheese Filling
- To a medium mixing bowl, add cream cheese and granulated sugar. Using a handheld mixer, mix on high until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
Glaze
- Mix confectioners' sugar and 7 tablespoons milk in a bowl until smooth and creamy. If too thick, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. Set aside.
Assembly
- Spread 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture over a mini pie crust, leaving some room around the edges.
- Drop 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie filling on top of the cream cheese.
- Fold the mini pie crust into a half-moon shape. Use water to wet the edges of the crust to help seal it. Crimp with a fork. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Frying
- In a medium pot over medium heat, add 2-3 inches of oil. Heat the oil until it reaches a temperature of 375°F.
- Place 2-3 hand pies into the pan. Fry until golden brown (3-4 minutes). Transfer to a paper towel-lined cooling rack. (Before adding each batch of hand pies, make sure the temperature of the oil is at 375°F; it may cool down after each batch.)
- While the hand pies are still warm, coat with the glaze. You can coat the pies by drizzling the glaze over each pie or dipping each pie into the bowl of glaze using a large fork.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Yummm yummm yummm, I’m going to have to try all these hand pies. Thank you for sharing, I’ll be back in touch after making them.
I’m so excited to meet you and I fire baking done it all my life but I just had my knee replace I’m s little slower but getting stronger every day
Hand pies have been a recipe in my family for years pineapple,cherry,apple and peach
Trying to figure how you can get 28 rounds of 4-5″ each from 2 pie crusts. Maybe 16 to 18 but not 26-28.
If you are using store-bought pie crust you still need to make sure the crust is rolled out thinner.
Oh my, these are amazing! So good
Can these be baked as well?
See that they can be baked. Fried doesn’t agree with me. How long should they bake??
Hello. I read through this post. I had asked about being able to bake these goodies, but I saw the text that these can also be baked. I will be baking these for my son’s birthday this month of November. I can’t wait thank you so much for sharing this great recipe
We make these a little larger, use 1/3 cup of filling and sprinkle coarse/raw sugar on top instead of glaze. We bake them and call them empanadas.
I was just going to say something similar. There’s no cream cheese in ours, and I add some Anise Seed that’s been soaked in Brandy and then add the brandy and some milk in place of water in the dough. Also the dough has a higher fat content so they are softer when baked. We also sprinkle a sugar with added Cinnamon or “Mexican” Cinnamon over the top. So yummy!
I do want to try Amanda’s version though as it sounds so, so good. I love the cream cheese add and I want to give the frying and glaze a go. Totally different and sounds amazing!
U said pumpkin pie filling, do u prepare the filling like ur making a pie , because the cans call for things
Plz help I want to make this
Plz email me the answer as I may not see it in here
Thank You
Betty
Can we use Pillsbury pie sheets instead of making pastry? I’m all for making these hand held little darlings, even the pumpkin one! Thank you!
Sure!