Halloween baking – Pumpkin Pasties Recipe

Hellooo there everyone!!! Yup – it’s that time of year again. The autumn leaves have transformed into shades of red, orange and yellow, pumpkins are popping up everywhere and there is an alarming amount of sweets stocking the shelves of supermarkets. Halloween is around the corner!!

Now I’ve never been one for Halloween – after all, it’s not celebrated too much where I’m from – but considering the buzz my fellow uni students are generating, I thought I would join the spooky celebrations this year. The sheer number of pumpkins I’ve seen getting sold or carved was enough to spark my inspiration, so I decided to go with … that’s right you guessed it. A pumpkin-inspired Halloween treat.

My decision to test out pumpkin pasties was actually inspired by the creative writing society I’m in – there’s an initiative they are running where they are gathering literary themed recipes to put together for a cookbook one of the volunteer groups are arranging. Me being the huge bookworm I am, I immediately started brainstorming. I hadn’t come up with anything exciting when I decided to take a break, lay down on my bed and just relax for a few minutes. I found myself staring at my Hufflepuff flag and inspiration struck me like a bolt of lightning. Coincidentally, my college is also running a baking competition this week, and since I had finally found a cooking pumpkin (there are plenty of carving pumpkins available but finding one to eat in this country has been a surprisingly big challenge), I thought this was the perfect opportunity to knock out three things at once. So, today I’m going to be sharing with you a sweet and savoury pumpkin pasty recipe, for all those looking for the perfect treat to get you in the mood for Halloween.

Ingredients – Savoury version:

  • 1/2 a can of pumpkin puree or 210g cooked pumpkin
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 1 clove of minced garlic
  • 1/4 packed cup of cheddar cheese (I like mature cheddar)
  • 1 roll of ready-made shortcrust pastry
  • Salt and Pepper for seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp Italian herbs
  • 1 egg, beaten for the egg wash
  • Flour for dusting

Ingredients – Sweet version:

  • 1/2 a can of pumpkin puree or 210g cooked pumpkin
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 roll of ready-made shortcrust pastry
  • 1 egg, beaten for the egg wash
  • Flour for dusting

Baking Instructions

  • Thaw out the pastry by leaving it in the fridge overnight
  • Preheat the oven to 200C and cover two baking trays in baking paper
  • If you are using fresh pumpkin instead of pumpkin puree, steam it until soft, mash it until it is smooth in texture and drain out as much of the excess water as possible (pumpkin is very watery so you might need to drain it two or three times to get it all out).
  • For the savoury version, mix the pumpkin with the cheese, butter, garlic and seasonings. Set aside.
  • For the sweet version, mix the pumpkin with the butter, sugar and spices. Set aside
  • Dust your surface lightly with flour and roll out the pastry until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Using either a pastry cutter, a mug or a glass, cut the pastry into 10cm circles (or larger if you prefer).
  • Spoon out about 1/2 a heaped teaspoon or less of the filling onto one side of the dough circles. Fold the pastry over to create half-moon shapes, and crimp the edges closed (I like to do it first with my fingers and then with the back of a fork). Cut three tiny slits into the top of each to create a vent (you can get creative).
  • Transfer the pasties onto the baking sheets and brush each with the egg wash.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry has turned a light golden colour.
  • Transfer onto a cooling rack and let them cool for 5 minutes before serving and enjoying! (Sprinkle a bit of castor sugar onto the top of the sweet ones just for an extra touch of sweetness).

And there you have it! My contribution to Halloween this year – Harry Potter inspired Pumpkin Pasties, a sweet and savoury version. I had loads of fun baking these (my flat certainly seemed to enjoy them) but I didn’t stop there. Because baking those awoke my baking bug I decided to do one other Halloween treat so I whipped up a batch of Gingerbread biscuits. I won’t be sharing the recipe here (this is one of my sacred recipes, not even my boyfriend knows it) but here you can see the finished result!

I truly loved baking both these items – I’ll always look for an excuse to be set loose in the kitchen, plus it was lots of fun and it has gotten me excited for Halloween on Saturday. If you decide to bake these pumpkin pasties, either way, please let me know how they turn out!! I’d love to hear about it. Also …

What are your favourite Halloween treats? Have you got a favourite spooky dessert? How do you like to celebrate Halloween? Or why don’t you celebrate it? Let’s chat in the comments section!

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx (going to eat some biscuits)

Author: blondeyonamission

Hey everyone! I'm a lifestyle and travel blogger from South Africa and about to relocate to the UK for university. My blog is all about stories, tips and advice with topics ranging from university, organisation, friends, books, travel and more. Please check it out and I hope you enjoy xxx

35 thoughts

    1. OH MY WORD REALLY???? Haha thank you they did come out pretty delicious I wish I could send you some!! Thank you for reading!! (Also not sure if I responded to your amazing Beauty and the Beast tag but I did see it and I love it I will definitely get to it thank you soo much!!)

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  6. Hello Blondey,
    Wow those treats all look delicious. Yes, I am another one awaiting the Ginger Cookie receipe, guess I will just have to wait for you to get back to SA to be treated with one or two ready baked ones. To those of you who haven’t tasted same, Uni mates, you are in for a treat and these are so beautifully decorated in the Haloween theme.
    Thanks for sharing.
    xxx

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    1. I KNOWWWW I AM SO HAPPY!! Haha I wish I could send some to you!! Awww thank you so much I really appreciate that!! Pretty well thanks – the online stuff and assignments are a bit stressful but otherwise great how are you doing?

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  14. That looks good! Even though I don’t like eating Pumpkin, I’m saving this recipe for my family as they are crazy about pumpkin food. XD I’m sure my mother would love to try making this for desert. :3

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