Description
Delight in these spiced apple and blackberry hand pies, featuring tender cooked apples combined with juicy blackberries and a hint of cinnamon and honey, all encased in buttery shortcrust pastry. Perfectly baked until golden, these charming hand pies make a tasty treat or dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
Fruit Filling
- 2 medium cooking apples peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
- 50 g golden caster sugar
- 150 g blackberries fresh or frozen
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pastry
- 2 sheets 320 g shortcrust pastry sheets
- 1 small egg beaten
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
Instructions
- Cook the apples: Place the chopped apples in a small saucepan with the golden caster sugar and 2 tbsp water. Cover with a lid and cook for 8 minutes or until the apples are soft. Spread the cooked apples into a shallow dish and allow to cool slightly.
- Prepare the fruit filling: In a small bowl, combine cornflour, honey, and ground cinnamon into a smooth paste. Gently mix this paste with the cooled apples and blackberries until evenly coated.
- Cut the pastry circles: Unroll the shortcrust pastry sheets. Using a 10 cm pastry cutter or similar-sized glass, cut out 12 circles from the pastry.
- Fill and shape the pies: Spoon about 1 tbsp of the fruit filling onto half of the pastry circles, leaving a 1 cm border around the edges. Brush the edges with the beaten egg. Place a plain pastry circle on top and gently press edges together to seal, then create a small dent at the top and bottom to shape like an apple.
- Seal and decorate: Use the prongs of a fork to firmly seal the edges all around each pie. Brush the tops with egg wash. Cut out small leaves and stalks from the pastry off-cuts, attach them on top with egg wash, and pierce a small steam hole in each pie with a skewer.
- Chill the pies: Transfer the pies to a baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight. Pies can be frozen for up to 3 months at this stage.
- Bake the pies: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan). Bake the pies for 20 minutes or until golden brown and the filling bubbles through the steam holes. If baking from frozen, add 10 minutes extra baking time.
- Finish and serve: Sprinkle the baked pies with caster sugar and serve warm with cream or custard.
Notes
- The pies can be chilled overnight or frozen before baking for convenient make-ahead options.
- Substitute honey with maple syrup for a vegan-friendly option if using a vegan pastry.
- Ensure the fruit filling is well coated with the cornflour paste to prevent soggy pastry.
- If shortcrust pastry is not available, puff pastry can be used but will produce a different texture.
- Serve pies warm for the best flavor and texture experience.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 195 g
- Calories: 109 kcal
- Sugar: 21 g
- Sodium: 12 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 24 mg
