- October 27, 2019
- Breakfast
Low Carb Keto Pumpkin Hand Pies
A flaky keto pie crust that’s easy to make, and easy to fill with your favorite keto pumpkin pie filling this fall! These pumpkin hand pies are gluten free and refined sugar free too!
Fall is all about comfort foods, pumpkin spice, and living for all the holiday spirit in my (important and obviously valuable) opinion…
I was recently reading some comments left by followers over on my Pinterest page, and I saw that someone had said how much they LOVED my Keto Almond Flour Biscuit recipe and that they not only use it for making biscuits, but she loved it as a pie crust. I seriously swooned at the thought of this. These biscuits are incredible flaky for being almond flour based and have been the source of inspiration for things like my Keto Cheddar Biscuit Bombs and my Cast Iron Keto Focaccia Bread.
So why not try this out as a pie crust!? I truly love that this job is about inspiring one another and I was inspired after reading this comment to try it out and make some portable, adorable, Halloween themed pumpkin hand pies.
News flash! They worked! I love that this dough can now be used as a keto low carb pie crust too! It makes a great substitute for a pastry dough or homemade pop tart too! Read through the post below for helpful tips and step by step photos. The complete recipe is below!
“School” Supplies:
- Food Processor
- Measuring Cups/ Spoons
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper
- Cookie Cutter (optional)
- Fork
“Class” Notes:
How To Make A Keto Pie Crust-
Traditional pie crust can be intimidating, so I understand some of the fear you may be feeling at the idea of making a grain free version. Do not fear my faithful friends, the teacher in me 100% has you covered!
Let’s start by breaking down the ingredients, discussing substitutions (I get asked about this often), and going through some of the techniques that helped me make this recipe a success.
For a pie crust to be flaky, you really need one main thing. That’s very very cold butter. As cold butter is traditionally cut into the dry ingredients of a pie crust, it melts in the oven and creates steam. The steam is what separates the dough to create those delicious layers!
Recreating this in a keto pie crust can be a little more difficult, but if I could make a flaky biscuit, I can make a pie crust. I choose to stick to just working with almond flour for this recipe. Coconut flour and almond flour are not interchangeable in baking typically.
I’ve mentioned this before in other posts about keto baking, but coconut flour absorbs moisture very differently than almond flour. Adding the same amount to this recipe in place of the almond flour would likely make the crust dry, and crumble. So in short… No, you can’t swap with coconut flour (sorry)!
I use a food processor to cut my cold butter and cream cheese into the almond flour. It makes little mess, takes little work, and the crust is ready in a few minutes! No food processor? That’s ok too! Try freezing your butter and grating it into the dough. Cut it into the dry ingredients in with a pastry cutter or a fork (might be a little more elbow grease but it will work).
Once the dough comes together, you do need to chill it like a regular pie crust dough. I find this helps with rolling it and (in this case) using the cookie cuter to cut out individual pieces of dough.
You can refrigerate if you plan on using the dough within the next 24 hours. Otherwise, divide the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 40-60 minutes. Once the dough is hard and chilled through, roll it out to 1/8th of an inch between two pieces of parchment paper. This makes it easier to cut pieces out and to prevent sticking. I lined the baking sheet with parchment as well to help with clean up!
Low Carb Pumpkin Pie Filling-
There are many brands of pumpkin puree out on the market. I find that Trader Joe’s is the lowest carb serving, but you’re only adding about a tablespoon or so to each pie… so no matter what brand you find, the carb count will be low regardless!
I doctored some basic pumpkin puree with some low carb powdered sweetener. Powdered dissolves better in this scenario and doesn’t leave a gritty texture. Add in the pumpkin pie spice and some vanilla extract too.
Pro Tip- Vanilla extract will actually help boost some of the pumpkin flavor!
Lay the cut out piece of pie crust (in my case these adorable ghosts I made for Halloween) on to the parchment paper lined pan. Place a heaping spoonful of the pumpkin pie filling into the middle and spread it slightly over the dough, but leave the edges clear! Place the top piece of dough over the bottom piece to enclose the filling.
I pressed lightly down around the edges to help close the two pieces of dough together, then used a fork to crimp the edges to ensure it would not open during baking. Bake the hand pies until golden brown (the edges may get a little darker than the top, this is ok).
I opted to glaze my keto pumpkin hand pies with a basic low carb glaze. The glaze was powdered low carb sweetener, a little vanilla, and some heavy cream to thin it out slightly. You could also serve these with a side of whipped cream too!
Refrigerate these hand pies to store them! Ours disappeared really fast, but I think they are best if they are eaten with in 2-3 days of making so the dough doesn’t get soggy. Pumpkin doesn’t have to be your only filling option either. You could easily make a cream pie filling, apple pie filling, or even add something savory (meat pies anyone)!
This made 18 ghost shaped hand pies for me. I believe you could potentially get about 20 total out of this, but the nutritional information will reflect the 18 I made. Always calculate your own information for best results!
If you make these delicious pies, be sure to tag me in a post of photo over on Instagram too or leave a comment and rate this recipe (I love getting feedback) below! Enjoy!
Love pumpkin baked goods? Check out these incredibly easy (and POPULAR) Keto Pumpkin Bread Bars and Keto Pumpkin Bread Scones!
Bon Appeteach,
-L
Low Carb Keto Pumpkin Hand Pies
Ingredients
- The Pie Dough-
- 3 cups Fine Almond Flour plus extra for dusting
- 4 tbsp Cold Butter cut into chunks
- 4 oz Cream Cheese cut into chunks
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Xanthan Gum DO NOT OMIT
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- The Filling-
- 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1/3 cup Powdered Low Carb Sweetener
- 1 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- The Glaze-
- 1 cup Powdered Low Carb Sweetener
- 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- Make the dough by pulsing the dry ingredients in a food processor. Add in the cold butter and cream cheese and pulse until it looks like bread crumbs. Add in the egg and pulse until the mixture forms a dough ball. See post above for alternative methods for making the dough without a food processor!
- Divide the dough into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours, but child the dough for 40-60 minutes in the freezer prior to rolling it out. This makes it easier to cut out with a cookie cutter or to make circles or squares.
- Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prepare the filling mixture and set it aside.
- To make your hand pies, use a cookie cutter shape of your choice or use a pizza wheels to cut out 3×3 inch squares. Roll the dough ball out between two pieces of parchment paper to about 1/8th inch thickness. The dough needs to be very cold in order to work with it! If you find it difficult to peel the cut out dough up off the parchment to place onto a baking sheet, pop the dough into the freezer (already cut) for a few minutes if needed. Place the cut out shape onto the prepared pan (about 8 per pan works best).
- Place about a tablespoon of the pie filling into the center of each bottom crust for your hand pie. Place a top crust over it and lightly press down around the edges. Use a fork to crimp the ends to ensure the pies don’t break open. Bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes or so. Let them cool a bit on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack and cool entirely before icing.
- To glaze, combine the ingredients together and whisk them in a bowl. Use a frosting spatula or butter knife to spread on the glaze. For the ghosts pictured above, I also melted dark chocolate and piped on two eyes and a mouth. Store leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days!