Cinnamon, Apple and Dried Fruit Mini-Pies

Lightly spiced and tangy-sweet with a flaky all-butter crust, these adorable mini-pies are decorated with fun shapes for a perfect bite of holiday cheer. The juicy fruit filling can be made ahead of time, simply assemble the pies in a Muffin Pan whenever it is time to entertain.  Our version adds apples to a mixture of currants, prunes and apricots, but feel free to customise the dried fruits to your taste. Dried cherries, cranberries, dates and golden raisins would all be welcome additions.

Pie Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

Pinch of kosher salt

Cold water, about 1/2 cup

Pie Filling

1 1/2 cups minced apples, such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp

1 cup currants

1/2 cup minced dried apricots

1/2 cup minced prunes

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup brandy

1 orange, zested and juiced

1 cup pomegranate juice

1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

Demerara sugar, optional

For the pie dough:

Place the flour, butter and a large pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse a few times until the butter is broken up and the mixture has a mealy texture. While pulsing, add the water one tablespoon at a time. Pulse until the dough starts to come together into a ball. You may not need all of the water. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, fold over a couple of times to knead and shape into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.

For the pies:

Place the apples, dried fruit, brown sugar, salt, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brandy, orange juice, zest and pomegranate juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Let the mixture simmer until the fruit is tender and the liquid is syrupy, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 175°C. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough to 3mm thick. Using a 9cm circle cookie cutter, cut 12 circles out of the pie crusts. Gently fit each circle into the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan. Using a 2.5 to 5cm cookie cutter in the shape of your choice, cut out 12 shapes to top the filling and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of filling to each well of the muffin pan on top of the dough. Top each mini pie with a cut out shape. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water to combine. Brush the egg mixture over the top of the dough and sprinkle with Demerara sugar.

Place Muffin Pan in a preheated oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow pies to rest 5 minutes before serving.