Halloween Puff Pastry Jam Hand Tarts (GF) 

These fun Halloween Puff Pastry Jam Hand Tarts are shaped like pumpkins and make a spooky treat the whole family will love! They're a great one to make with the kids & add a bit of Halloween magic to your snacks!

These Halloween Puff Pastry Jam Hand Tarts are one of the easiest and tastiest Halloween treats you can make! The kids will love getting involved – from cutting out the pumpkin shapes to filling them with jam. Why not grab an extra sheet of puff pastry and make some mummy puff pastry sausages too?

I used Jus-Rol gluten-free puff pastry for mine, which is a great alternative if you can’t have gluten. Just keep in mind it doesn’t puff up quite as much as regular pastry, so if gluten’s not an issue for you, your pumpkins will be even puffier!

Check out these 15 allergy-friendly spooky Halloween treats for more ideas too!

🥘 Ingredients You Will Need

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need to make these pumpkin jam hand tarts. To find out how to make them allergy-friendly, simply scroll down to the section below this one.

✋ Double check all packaging for allergens ✋

• Puff Pastry - The easiest way to make these is with a pre-rolled puff pastry sheet. I’ve used Jus-Rol, but there are plenty of other brands that do pre-rolled sheets too.
• Jam - You can use any flavour you fancy! I’ve gone for strawberry cause it’s my kids' favourite, but apricot jam would give the tarts more of a pumpkin-like colour inside.
• Egg - The egg is whisked and used as an egg wash to give the pastry that lovely golden brown, flaky finish.
• Sugar - A sprinkle of sugar on top adds a bit of crunch and sweetness to the tarts.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

✏️ How to Make Halloween Jam Hand Tarts 

⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️

Step 1: Preheat Oven - Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan) / 390˚F or gas mark 4. 

Step 2: Roll out the puff pastry  -
Roll out your puff pastry sheet, keeping it on the parchment paper it came with. This helps prevent it from sticking to your work surface and saves you the hassle of cleaning up later. Using a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, cut out your pumpkin shapes.

You’ll need an even number of shapes, as you’ll be making little sandwiches with them. I managed to cut out 16 pumpkins, making eight tarts in total by re-rolling the leftover pastry.

Step 3: Create jack-o'-lantern face -
On half of the pumpkin shapes, use a small knife to carefully cut out jack-o'-lantern faces. 

Step  4:  Add the jam -
Spoon around 1 small teaspoon of jam onto the centre of the pumpkin shapes without faces.

Be careful not to overfill the tarts, as the jam will spread while baking and could leak out, making the tarts messy and harder to seal.

Step  5: Egg wash and seal the tarts  -
Brush a little whisked egg around the edges of the jam-filled pumpkins. Then, place the jack-o'-lantern faces on top of the jam-filled pumpkins and gently press the edges with a fork to seal them completely. 

Step 6:  Egg wash and sugar  -
Brush the tops of the tarts with the whisked egg,  this will help the flaky pastry to turn a lovely shade of golden brown. Then, sprinkle a little sugar over the top.

Step  7: Bake the tarts -
Transfer the tarts, still on the parchment paper, onto a baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, or until they are puffed up and golden. 

Step 8: Cool and serve -
Let the tarts cool for a few minutes after baking before serving. They’ll be very hot straight from the oven, but once they’ve cooled a bit, you can enjoy them warm or at room temperature for a delightful Halloween treat!

🥡 Storage / Reheating / Freezing

🔹 Storage

If you have leftover tarts, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

For longer storage, place them in the fridge where they’ll keep for up to 4 days. However, they might lose some of their crispness when kept in the fridge.

🔹 Reheating

To bring back the crisp texture, reheat the tarts in the oven at 180°C (160°C fan) or gas mark 4 for 5-7 minutes.

If you’re in a rush, you can use the microwave but be aware that the puff pastry won’t stay as crispy. Heat in short bursts of 10-15 seconds until warm.

🔹 Freezing

Once baked and cooled, you can freeze the tarts in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 month. Flash freeze first on a baking tray for an hour until hard, so the tarts don’t all stick together,

When you’re ready to enjoy them, defrost them in the fridge overnight and reheat them in the oven to crisp them up.

🍴 How To Serve

These pumpkin shaped snacks make a great spooky treat served warm on their own, although we love to add some ice-cream or warm custard to make a Halloween dessert.

You can also serve them alongside these jack-o-lantern stuffed peppers, mummy hotdogs and gluten-free Halloween cookies as part of a Halloween-themed buffet.