I made these fruit pies for an after school treat last week with fruit I had in our fruit bowl that needed using up. They are great for those who dislike traditional fruit mince as they taste lighter and are suet and alcohol free. Perfect for afternoon tea or pudding, anytime of year not just in the run up to Christmas. Use whatever pastry you like. I made my own but filo or store bought shortcrust pastry would work just as well.
Festive Fruit Pies
I used the pastry recipe from this post.
Filling:
2 eating apples
2 pears
4 plums
75g dried cranberries
3 Tblsp water or orange juice
1 Tblsp caster sugar or light soft brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Make the pastry and leave it to chill in the fridge whilst you make the filling. Peel and core the apples and pears then dice them into small pieces, chop the plums into cubes the same size as the apples and pears.
Put a saucepan over a low heat and add the prepared fruit along with the water. Cook, covered, for about 15 - 20 minutes until the fruit has softened. Add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla then cook for another 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature before using.
Grease a 12 hole muffin tin and preheat your oven to 190C. I use a metal muffin tin which helps to avoid my pies having soggy bottoms.
Roll out your pastry and cut 12 circles big enough to line the holes of the muffin tin. Press each circle of pastry gently but firmly into each of the muffin tin holes then fill each three quarters full with fruit filling. Cut out 12 circles which will form lids for the pies and put on top of each filled pastry case.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden and cooked through. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
I have entered these Festive Fruit Pies into Feel Good Food created by Victoria and hosted by JibberJabberUK where the theme is Cranberries.
I've also joined in the Festive Photos fun with No Croutons Required hosted by Jac over at Tinned Tomatoes.
I'm also linking up with The Spice Trail hosted by Bangers and Mash, where the theme is Cinnamon.
I am also joining in with Tea Time Treats which is being hosted by Kate for the last time, Karen will be announcing a new cohost next year.
Brilliant festive fruit pies which sound absolutely yummy. I really should make my own pastry more.
ReplyDeletePastry is much easier to make than most people think it is. My now 13yo is a dab hand at it :o)
DeleteI'm just lazy and don't want to get the rolling pin and glass work top saver out LOL:-)
DeleteThey look amazing. Like the fruity filling as some of family not keen on the traditional mince pie
ReplyDeleteThanks Jacqui, my lot like traditional fruit mince too but I wanted something a bit lighter and easier to make. They went down very well indeed! :)
DeleteI love making pastry and my kids could help me with these. Such a perfect kid alternative to mince pies which they hate!
ReplyDeleteOh those do sound wonderful Michelle. I could happily gobble up the lot!!!
ReplyDeleteI know so many people who don't like traditional mince pies - these look a wonderful alternative. I think my kids would absolutely love these too. A perfect entry for December's Spice Trail - thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to use some fruit up with and of course I love the addition of the dried cranberries! Thanks for linking up with this month's Feel Good Food.
ReplyDeletethese are brilliant - I have been avoiding making fruit mince this year but I love the idea of a festive pie that is quite mincy and they look gorgeous too
ReplyDelete