Recipe: Angellica Bell's Cranberry Pies

I’ve never used fresh cranberries before, so this recipe was an exciting prospect. I ended up feeling very Christmassy!

These are easy, fun and a nice alternative from mince pies and Christmas pudding over the festive season too. I use an easy sweetcrust pastry and add a bit of cinnamon to it.

Ingredients

Pastry

150g plain flour

75g cold unsalted butter

55g icing sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

1 egg yolk

Cranberry filling

300g fresh cranberries

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup any brown sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp Disarrano

Extra bits

1 egg beaten

sugar for sprinkling

1. First, let’s make the pastry. You can do this by hand by adding the flour and butter into a bowl and rubbing them together with your fingers to create a mix resembling breadcrumbs. Then, add the icing sugar, a pinch of salt, and finally the egg yolk, and bind together until you form a soft dough. If it’s too dry add a bit of cold water. If too wet, add a bit of flour. You could use a food processor to save the mess. Wrap your pastry in some greaseproof paper and pop it in the fridge for at least an hour before using.

2. Now, start on the filling. In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and zest and give them a good mix and heat until the sugar has melted.

3. Sprinkle in the flour until the mixture has thickened. This takes about 4 minutes, but you can judge for yourself. Finally, add your liqeur if you’re using one (and use one you like!) and cook for a bit longer. Carefully pour your mixture into a bowl and let it cool completely.

4. Preheat your oven to 220C or 425F then line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

5. On a lightly-floured surface roll your dough out and using a biscuit cutter and cut out an even number of circles (use a cutter as small or as large as you like but I think the mini is cute!). Place half on your baking sheet.

6. Lightly brush the beaten egg wash along the edges of the circles then add some of your filling. Using a knife or straw, pierce a hole or cross in the centre of the remaining circles and place on top of your circles with fillings ready to be covered. Seal by pressing the edges shut with the prongs of a fork – make sure they are secure!

7. Brush each pie lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

8. Bake until golden brown – around 15-20 minutes depending on how big your pies are!

9. Remove from the oven and cool for a bit then serve with ice cream!

Ta dah! Merry Christmas everyone!

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