The Best Fluffy Pancakes recipe you will fall in love with. Full of tips and tricks to help you make the best pancakes.
I made these the first year my nephew decided he was “too old” for trick-or-treating but still wanted a Halloween dinner. Crescent dough, a handful of pantry pizza stuff, and suddenly you’ve got a tray of little wrapped-up faces staring back at you. No carving, no candy, no mess beyond a rolling pin and some flour on the counter.
They’re pizza pockets. That’s it. The mummy part is just strips of dough and two olive eyes. But something about a face on your food makes a Tuesday dinner feel like an event, and that’s really the whole appeal here.
Why This Works
The sealing step is the one people skip, and it’s the one that matters. If you don’t press those two dough circles together tight around the edge, the sauce steams and pushes its way out the sides while it bakes — you end up with flat, leaking pockets instead of puffed ones. Keeping the sausage and cheese in the center, not near the edges, is what makes that seal possible in the first place.
The egg wash matters more than it looks like it should, too. Skip it and the strips just sit on top, pale and separate. Brush it on and the strips fuse to the base dough as they bake, which is the only thing holding the “bandages” in place once they hit the oven.
Ingredients
- 2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Roll Sheets
- 1/3 cup shredded cheese, pizza blend or mozzarella
- Pizza sausage
- 1 small bottle pizza sauce
- 1 small can sliced olives
- 1 egg
- 3 tsp. water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Roll out one crescent roll dough sheet on a non-stick surface.
- Cut 6 circles, about 3 inches each, with a round cutter — try to fit two full rows. Move the circles to the lined baking sheet.
- Cut 1/2-inch strips from what’s left of that sheet.
- Press the scraps back together and roll them out again to the same thickness, then cut a few more strips. Don’t worry about matching lengths — you’ll trim them later.
- Spoon 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. of pizza sauce onto 3 of the cut circles.
- Add a bit of cheese on top of the sauce.
- Add about 5 pieces of pizza sausage on top of the cheese. Keep everything centered — the outer edge needs to stay clean so it can seal.
- Stretch a second dough circle over the filling and press the edges of both pieces together firmly to seal.
- Set two olive slices on top for the eyes.
- Crisscross the dough strips over the face, trimming as needed, and press the ends down into the base circle to secure them.
- Repeat with the second crescent sheet.
- Whisk the egg with 3 tsp. of water in a small bowl to make an egg wash.
- Brush the egg wash over every mummy face.
- Bake 15–18 minutes, until golden brown.
- Serve with extra pizza sauce on the side for dipping.
Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 18 minutes Total Time: 43 minutes Yield: 5–6 servings (6–8 mummy faces)
Tips
- Two of your faces will probably come out smaller than the rest — that’s just what happens once you’re re-rolling scraps for the second batch of strips. Save those for the kids who eat less anyway.
- Keep the filling low and centered. A pocket that won’t seal is almost always a pocket that got overfilled.
- Work with one dough sheet at a time and keep the second one in the fridge. Crescent dough gets tacky and hard to cut clean circles from once it warms up.
Variations
Swap the pizza sausage for pepperoni if that’s what’s in the fridge — it works fine, though the mummies end up flatter since pepperoni doesn’t puff the way sausage crumbles do. I wouldn’t bother trying to make these with a sweeter dough, like crescent rolls marketed for cinnamon rolls; the sugar fights with the pizza sauce in a way that isn’t worth it.
Make-Ahead Notes
Assemble the pockets up to the egg wash step and refrigerate them, covered, for a few hours before baking — that part holds fine. Don’t bake them ahead and reheat, though. The dough turns tough and the “bandage” strips start to peel up at the edges once they’ve cooled and gone back in the oven.
FAQ
Can I make mummy pizza pockets ahead of time?
Yes, assemble and refrigerate before baking, but bake them fresh — see the make-ahead note above.
What can I use instead of pizza sausage?
Pepperoni, cooked ground beef, or even just extra cheese all work. I’d skip pepperoni if you want that classic puffed-up mummy shape, since it doesn’t fill out the pocket the same way.
Why did my pockets leak sauce while baking?
The seal around the edge wasn’t tight enough, or the filling was too close to the edge. Press firmly all the way around before adding the strips on top.
Do I need a round cutter?
A cutter gives you clean, even circles, but a drinking glass about 3 inches wide works in a pinch.
How many mummy pockets does this recipe make?
Between 6 and 8, depending on how much dough you get from re-rolling scraps — expect two of them to be noticeably smaller than the rest.
Closing Thoughts
These disappear fast at a Halloween party table, but they’re also just a fun Friday dinner shape the rest of the year if you skip the “spooky” framing and call them pizza pockets. Pair them with a simple green salad and you’ve got a full meal instead of just a snack tray.
Mummy Pizza Pockets
These Mummy Pizza Pockets are a fun Halloween snack made with flaky crescent roll dough filled with pizza sauce, cheese, and sausage. Olive eyes and crisscrossed strips of dough create an adorable mummy face, making them perfect for Halloween parties, lunches, or spooky-season snacks.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Prepare the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Cut the Dough
- Roll out one crescent roll dough sheet on a nonstick work surface.
- Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut 6 circles from the dough, aiming for at least two rows of circles when possible.
- Transfer the circles to the prepared baking sheet.
- Cut the remaining uncut dough into approximately 1/2-inch-wide strips for decorating the mummy faces.
- Gather any remaining scraps, press them together, and roll them to the same thickness as the original dough. Cut additional strips as needed.
Fill the Pizza Pockets
- Spoon approximately 1 1/2-2 teaspoons pizza sauce onto 3 of the dough circles, keeping the outer edges clean for sealing.
- Add a small amount of shredded cheese over the pizza sauce.
- Place approximately 5 pieces of pizza sausage over the cheese, keeping the filling centered.
- Stretch another dough circle gently over each filled circle and press the outer edges firmly together to seal the pizza pocket.
Create the Mummy Faces
- Place two sliced olives near the upper portion of each pocket to create the mummy’s eyes.
- Crisscross the prepared dough strips over each pizza pocket to resemble mummy bandages, leaving the olive eyes visible.
- Trim the strips to fit and gently press their ends into the outer edge of the dough to secure them.
- Repeat the cutting, filling, sealing, and decorating process with the second crescent roll sheet.
Add the Egg Wash
- Whisk together the egg and 3 teaspoons water in a small bowl to make an egg wash.
- Lightly brush the egg wash over the exposed dough on each mummy pizza pocket.
Bake
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the crescent dough is puffed and golden brown.
Serve
- Remove from the oven and serve warm with additional pizza sauce for dipping.
Notes
- Corrected total time: The provided recipe lists 30 minutes prep and 18 minutes cook time, which equals approximately 48 minutes total rather than 43 minutes.
- Yield: The recipe lists a yield of 5-6 mummy pizza pockets, while another note mentions 6-8 mummy faces. The exact yield may vary depending on how efficiently the dough is cut and rerolled.
- Pizza sausage: No total amount is supplied in the ingredient list. The instructions specify approximately 5 pieces per pizza pocket.
- Pizza sauce: The bottle size is not specified. Use approximately 1 1/2-2 teaspoons inside each pocket and reserve additional sauce for dipping.
- Keep the edges clean: Avoid spreading sauce or filling onto the outer edges of the dough so the pockets seal properly.
- Dough strips: The mummy strips do not need to be equal in length or perfectly straight. Slightly uneven strips create a fun mummy-bandage appearance.
- Olive eyes: Keep the olive slices visible when adding the dough strips so the mummy faces remain recognizable.
- Smaller pockets: Pockets made from rerolled dough scraps may be slightly smaller than the others.
- Baking: Begin checking at 15 minutes and remove when the dough is puffed and golden brown.
- Storage: Refrigerate cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat in the oven or air fryer until warmed through and the dough is crisp again.
