These Halloween pumpkin pastries turn store-bought pie dough and a spiced pumpkin filling into a tray of little mummies, with candy eyes peeking out from their bandages. They’re easy, kids can help with nearly every step, and they look far more impressive than they are hard to make.
While you’re baking these Halloween pumpkin pastries, here’s a joke for you…
Q: Why was the mummy so tense?
A: Because he was so wound up!
But no need to get wound up over anything when you’re baking these little mummies. With a few store-bought ingredients, these cute Halloween pastries will leave everyone saying, “I want mummy.”
Which Premade Pie Dough Should You Use for Your Halloween Pumpkin Pastries?
We’ve kept it simple with store-bought ingredients, because sometimes you just don’t have the time to make all that stuff yourself. A brand of premade pie dough to consider is Wholly Wholesome, which is organic and can be found at big stores like ShopRite. Pillsbury is a classic, and also easily available at most stores. Trader Joe’s also makes their own, which many have hailed as the best store-bought pie dough. Whatever you use, have fun with this recipe and don’t stress! These Halloween pumpkin pastries are great to make with kids or friends to celebrate spooky season.
Why You’ll Love These Halloween Pumpkin Pastries
They’re easy. Store-bought pie dough does the heavy lifting, and the filling is a quick stir of pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, an egg, and spice. They’re fun. The mummy bandages are meant to be overlapping and irregular, so there’s no wrong way to wrap one. And they’re impressive. Golden, flaky pastries wrapped like mummies look like you fussed for hours, and each one finishes with a set of eyes.
Halloween Pumpkin Pastries for School, Parties, and Trick-or-Treaters
Halloween Treats to Share at School
Each pastry is its own single serving, which makes them easy to pass around a classroom. Because the filling contains egg and pumpkin puree, treat them like pumpkin pie: keep them cool, pack them with an ice pack, and check your school’s policy on homemade and perishable treats first.
A Halloween Party Treat That Looks Like You Fussed
Arrange the mummies on a dark platter, the way they’re shown in our photo, and watch them disappear. They make a great party-table treat because kids love the theme and adults love the pumpkin spice. Serve them the day you bake them for the best flaky texture.
Not the Best Choice for Trick-or-Treaters
Since these pastries have an egg-and-pumpkin filling, they’re better handed to friends and family who stop by than wrapped for a trick-or-treat bag that sits out all night. Homemade treats are best saved for people you know.
Ingredient Notes: Pumpkin Puree, Pie Dough, and Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pumpkin puree. Look for 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, since the recipe adds its own brown sugar and spice. Much of America’s canned pumpkin comes from one small area around Morton, Illinois, which calls itself the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.” Libby’s, the leading brand, uses a variety called Dickinson pumpkin, which looks more like a butternut squash than a jack-o’-lantern.
Premade pie dough. Store-bought dough skips the mixing, chilling, and rolling of homemade crust, which is what makes these pastries doable on a school night.
Pumpkin pie spice. This ready-made blend of warm spices, typically cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, saves you from measuring each one and gives the filling its pumpkin pie flavor. You can also make your own with TABLE Magazine’s recipe for pumpkin spice.
Tips for Making Halloween Pumpkin Pastries
Save every scrap. Cut the pie dough into roughly 3 x 4-inch rectangles and set the scraps aside. They become the mummy bandages.
Leave a border. Spread 2 tablespoons of filling on each rectangle, leaving ¼ inch of bare dough around all the edges to help keep the filling in as the pastries bake.
Wrap the mummies. Cut the scraps into thin strips, brush the dough edges with egg wash, and lay the strips over the filling. You want them overlapping and irregular, so don’t aim for neat.
Brush for shine. A second coat of egg wash on all the tops helps the pastries bake up golden brown. Wash hands after handling raw egg.
Watch for golden brown. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the dough is golden brown, then add the eyes.
How Kids Can Help Make Halloween Pumpkin Pastries
Kids can stir the pumpkin filling, spoon and spread it on the dough, cut the scraps into strips, and arrange the mummy bandages. They can also brush on the egg wash, sprinkle the tops, and press the eyes onto the warm pastry to finish. Adults should crack the eggs, cut the dough into rectangles, and handle the oven.
Looking for more? See our easy Halloween treats to make with kids, try our Monster Rice Krispie Treats and Simple Fudgy Peppermint Patty Brownies, and browse TABLE’s Fall recipes and Cooking with Kids recipes.
Storing Halloween Pumpkin Pastries
Treat leftovers like pumpkin pie: let them cool, then refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to a week.
Print
Halloween Pumpkin Pastries
- Total Time: 45 to 60 min
- Yield: 8 pastries 1x
Description
Pumpkin-spice filling wrapped in pie dough strips to look like mummies, baked until golden, and finished with candy eyes. Made with store-bought pie dough and easy for kids to help with.
Ingredients
- 4 sheets premade pie dough (for most brands, that’s 2 packages)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 egg, for brushing
- Googly eyes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone baking surface.
- Mix together pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, egg and spice. Mix until evenly incorporated.
- Cut pie dough into roughly 3” x 4” rectangles, reserving the scraps.
- Fill each rectangle with 2 tbsp filling and spread evenly, leaving 1/4 inch of the dough around all the edges.
- Cut pie dough scraps into thin strips. Brush the edges of the dough with egg wash and arrange the pie dough scraps on top of each filled rectangle. You want them to be overlapping and irregular to look like a “mummy.”
- Brush all the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Give each pastry a set of google eyes!
- Prep Time: 40 min
- Cook Time: 15 to 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pastry
- Calories: 300 calories
Halloween Pumpkin Pastries FAQs
Can kids help make these pumpkin pastries?
Yes. Kids can stir the filling, spread it, cut the scraps into strips, wrap the mummies, and add the eyes. Adults should handle the eggs, the rectangles, and the oven.
Should I use pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie filling?
Use plain pumpkin puree. The recipe adds its own brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice, and pie filling is already sweetened and spiced.
What premade pie dough works best?
Any store-bought pie dough works. Wholly Wholesome, Pillsbury, and Trader Joe’s are all good options.
How long do Halloween pumpkin pastries bake?
Bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.
Can I give these to trick-or-treaters?
Yes, for friends, neighbors, and families you know. The filling contains egg and pumpkin puree, so treat them like pumpkin pie and hand them out fresh rather than leaving them out all night. Add an ingredient tag, and check labels for allergens.
About the Recipe Author
Anna Franklin is TABLE Magazine’s food stylist and recipe developer. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Academy of Culinary Arts, she spent many years cooking in restaurant kitchens and photo studios before moving into food styling. Anna tests, plates, and styles the recipes and restaurant features in TABLE’s print and digital editions, working alongside photographers Dave Bryce and Laura Petrilla. She is also the founder of Bazaaa Sauce, a Pittsburgh hot sauce microbrand. Read more of her work at TABLE.
About the Photographer
Dave Bryce is TABLE Magazine’s contributing architecture, interiors, and food photographer, based in Pittsburgh. He photographed Fallingwater: Living With and In Art (Rizzoli, 2025) and regularly shoots for Pittsburgh Magazine and American Farmhouse Style, working with architects, interior designers, and hospitality brands. See more at davebrycephotography.com.
Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.
