Sunday, November 27, 2011

Apple and cranberry pies



This makes eight little pies, with some leftover pastry. Fuji apples hold together well after steaming or stewing.
 
Pastry

175 gr/6 oz butter
75 gr/2.5 oz sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
300 grams/ 10.5 oz flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the egg. Beat again. Gradually beat in the flour, baking powder and salt. Pat into a fat disk and chill for 20 minutes.

The Filling:

4-5 Fuji apples, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
pinch of powdered cinnamon

If you have a steamer, steam the apples till barely tender. Otherwise cook them very gently in a quarter inch of water. Remove from pot to a bowl, add cranberries and sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over them.



Butter a muffin pan.

Roll 2/3's of the pastry out quite thinly and cut out a pastry disk to fit each 8 slots (I use a wine glass that makes the perfect-sized disk). Line each muffin slot with pastry. Fill with apples and top with some cranberries. Roll out the rest of the pastry and cut out smaller lids for the pies. Cover the filling and crimp the edges in the way you know best, make several slits for steam. Bake in a 350'F/180'C oven till pale golden and crisp. About 20 minutes.

Remove from oven, run a butter knife along the edges of each pie and leave to cool in pan for about five minutes before easing each pie out onto a cooling rack.


Variations:

Use quince instead of apples: steam or stew a little longer till tender and 2 additional Tbsp of sugar
Use raisins instead of cranberries

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