Today I'm very excited to share that I finally was able to make my very own recipe! After a little over 300 recipe reviews of other people's recipes, I was finally able to get enough inspiration, confidence, courage, and creativity to do it! I had seen a few variations of similar ideas for 'mummy' inspired desserts for Halloween online, but alas I was not able to find a recipe that fit what I was looking for given the ingredients I had on hand. So, I decided to make my own. This recipe turned out really well and is a super easy and quick way to make a Halloween dessert, as well as use up any leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. One modification I would next time would be to add about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of sugar to the cranberry sauce, as it tasted a bit tarter than expected. I suppose because the expectation for the sweetness of the pastry is higher than that of what you would have for Thanksgiving dinner, however, this step is optional. I've added these changes down below. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my first official recipe and thank you to those of you who take the time to read my posts, hopefully this isn't the first and last original recipe I make! Also, feel free to let me know how this recipe turned out for you and tag me on Instagram @bakingwithlauren or on Facebook under 'Baking with Lauren', I'm excited to see how yours turn out! Happy baking :)
Cranberry Mummy Pastries/ Hand Pies
Ingredients:
1.5 cups Cranberry Sauce
425g Frozen Puff Pastry (1-2 sheets depending on which brand you use)
1 Egg
1/2 cup to 1/4 cup Sugar to add to the cranberry sauce (depending on your preference, *this step is optional*), plus extra to sprinkle on top of each pastry (regular or crystallized)
Flour to roll out the puff pastry on the countertop
22 Candy Eyeballs (depending on how many pastries you make)
Makes 11 pastries
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F and set aside a baking sheet with either a silicone sheet or parchment paper fit to the size of the pan.
Defrost the frozen puff pastry sheet(s) by letting it sit on the counter or putting it on a plate and heating it up in the microwave at 30 second intervals (2 or 3 rounds depending on how frozen it is, flip the pastry over between each interval).
Heat up your leftover cranberry sauce in a medium sized pot and add 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup of sugar and stir until the sugar grains have dissolved to increase the sweetness. Remove from the stove once the ingredients have been fully incorporated and set it aside to cool off a bit before spooning it into the pastry rectangles. *Skip this step if you like your cranberry sauce sweetness as it is*
Sprinkle or dust your countertop and rolling pin with flour and roll out your puff pastry into a rectangular shape until it’s about 1cm thick.
Cut the puff pastry into 10-12 rectangles that are about 5 inches by 3 inches (approximately 13cm by 8cm). Cut the remaining pieces into 3 inch (8cm) long strips that vary between 1cm and 2cm thick.
Place the puff pastry rectangles on to the baking sheet and spoon about 1.5 tablespoons of cranberry sauce in the middle of each rectangle.
Create the egg wash by beating the egg in a bowl and use a pastry brush to brush the edges of each pastry.
Place the puff pastry strips across each pastry in a diagonal fashion in alternating directions, as well as one strip across the top and bottom of each one. Press down each strip at the sides of the pastry and cut off the remaining pastry. (Approximately 4-5 pastry strips will be diagonal and 2 pastry strips for the top and bottom)
Brush the top of each pastry with the remaining egg wash using the pastry brush and sprinkle sugar on top.
Bake for 22 minutes or until the puff pastry is a light golden-brown colour.
Cool for 10-15 minutes.
Place two candy eyeballs on each pastry near the top of the pastry where the cranberry sauce is and voila you have made your very own mummy pastry! Enjoy :)
Notes:
-You could also use your preferred jam such as strawberry, blueberry, or marmalade, or even pumpkin puree.
-To top it off, you can add whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, sprinkle some icing sugar on top, or create a vanilla glaze by mixing together 1.5 cups of icing sugar, 1 tbsp of 2% milk, and 1 tsp of vanilla in a bowl and drizzling on top of each pastry.
-You can buy candy eyeballs at Superstore, Walmart, or your local baking store, or even make your own by making a royal icing and food colouring.
Photo and recipe (c) 2020 Baking with Lauren-Lauren Tang
Comments