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Apple Mummy Hand Pies

Little cinnamon-apple hand pies wrapped in pastry bandages, with candy eyes peeking out. Refrigerated pie dough keeps the shaping manageable.

Prep45 minutesBake30 minutesTotal75 minutesMakes8 hand pies
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Generated illustration of cinnamon-apple mummy hand pies with crisscrossed golden pastry strips and candy eyes on parchment.

Recipe-development draft. This recipe has not been kitchen-tested. Confirm the yield, bake time, texture and storage quality before publishing.

The featured image is an AI-generated styling illustration, not a photograph of a tested batch. Replace it with the finished bake before presenting it as recipe photography.

These little mummies are cinnamon-apple pies underneath their pastry bandages. Refrigerated pie dough handles the crust, while a quick cooked filling keeps the assembly from becoming too wet.

Small pieces, tidy filling

Dice the peeled apples into pieces about 1/4 inch across. Larger chunks are harder to fit into a small pastry base and leave less space for the strips. Cook the filling until there is no loose liquid in the skillet, then spread it out to cool.

Keep the pastry cold

Cold dough and cooled filling make the shaping more manageable. Before you fill anything, count out eight pastry bases and reserve enough dough for all the bandages. Refrigerated crust sizes vary, so this is one of the details to confirm with the brand you use.

How to make the mummy shape

The base is a 3-by-4-inch rectangle. Leave a clear border around the apple filling, brush that border with egg wash and lay narrow strips across the center. A small gap near the top becomes the face. Press the strip ends down, trim them and finish the border with a fork.

The bandages do not need to be identical. A few angled strips are part of the look. What matters most is keeping the filling inside its border and attaching the strip ends firmly.

Add the eyes after baking

Set the candy eyes aside until the pies are fully cool. A tiny dot of thick powdered-sugar icing is enough to hold each one. The candy does not need to go through the oven, and the small face stays easier to control when you add it at the end.

Bake ahead, decorate later

For a gathering, prepare and bake the pies first. Cool and refrigerate them, then rewarm undecorated portions if desired. Add fresh eyes after they cool again. This lets you do the messy dough work before the serving-day finishing touches.

Check the underside of a pie as well as the top before taking the tray out of the oven. Golden bandages are lovely, but the base should also be baked and browned rather than pale and soft.

Sweetsies Recipe

Apple Mummy Hand Pies

Little cinnamon-apple hand pies wrapped in pastry bandages, with candy eyes peeking out. Refrigerated pie dough keeps the shaping manageable.

Prep45 min
Cook30 min
Total75 min
Yield8 hand pies

Ingredients

  • 300 g peeled and cored apples, cut into 1/4-inch dice (weigh after peeling and coring)
  • 25 g (about 2 tablespoons packed) light brown sugar
  • 14 g (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon cool water, for the cornstarch slurry
  • 400–450 g refrigerated pie dough (2 full-size crusts), cold but rollable; follow package thawing directions if frozen
  • 1 large egg, for the egg wash
  • 1 teaspoon water, for the egg wash
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, for sprinkling
  • 16 candy eyes, added after baking and cooling
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar plus a few drops of water, for attaching the eyes

Instructions

  1. Combine the diced apples, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and lemon juice in a skillet over medium heat. Cook for 6–7 minutes, stirring, until the apples start to soften but still hold their shape.
  2. Stir the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cool water together. Add to the apples and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until the filling is glossy and there is no loose liquid. Spread on a plate and allow about 20 minutes to cool to room temperature.
  3. Heat a conventional oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Roll the cold pie dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut eight 3-by-4-inch rectangles for the bases, gathering and rerolling scraps gently as needed. Cut the remaining dough into strips about 1/4 inch wide for bandages. Return the dough to the refrigerator briefly if it becomes soft.
  4. Arrange the eight bases on the baking sheet with space between them. Divide the cooled filling evenly, about 2 tablespoons per pie, keeping a 1/2-inch border clear on every side. Do not mound the filling above the pastry borders.
  5. Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush a little egg wash onto the clear borders. Lay pastry strips loosely across the filling, leaving a gap near the top for the eyes. Press the strip ends onto the borders, trim any overhang and crimp around the edges with a fork.
  6. Brush exposed pastry lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Refrigerate the assembled pies for 10 minutes. Keep the candy eyes out of the oven.
  7. Bake for 22–27 minutes, until the strips and edges are golden and the bottoms are browned. Move to a cooling rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before decorating.
  8. Mix the powdered sugar with just enough drops of water to make a thick icing glue. Use two tiny dots to attach two candy eyes in the gap on each cooled pie. Allow the glue to set before moving or packing.

Sweetsies notes

Apple amount: The recipe uses 300 g after peeling and coring. Apple sizes vary, so use weight rather than an exact number of apples. Start with a firm baking apple such as Granny Smith or Braeburn for the first test.

Dough: Keep the dough cold and handle rerolled scraps gently. The quantity must supply eight bases plus the strips; crust dimensions vary by brand. Confirm the yield with your chosen package on the first test.

No candy in the oven: Add the eyes only after the pies are fully cool. The egg wash is for pastry; the powdered-sugar glue is only for the eyes.

Storage plan: Cool, then refrigerate covered at 40°F (4°C) or below and plan to serve within 3 days. For a crisper finish, rewarm undecorated pies at 325°F (165°C) for about 8–10 minutes, then cool before attaching fresh eyes. Refrigerate within 2 hours of baking rather than leaving out overnight.

Allergens: Contains wheat and eggs, and milk from the butter. Check pastry and candy-eye labels for additional allergens.

Grams are the reference measurements. U.S. cups and spoon measures are approximate; spoon flour into the cup and level it rather than scooping.

Do not taste raw dough or batter. Wash hands, equipment and work surfaces after handling raw flour and eggs.

Development status: Not kitchen-tested. Timings, yield and quality notes are estimates to verify before publication.