Such was my dedication to making these little, jewelled pies today that I only marathoned 3 episodes of Jessica Jones in order to accommodate them. Don’t praise me too hard though, now I can watch Jessica Jones with a mouthful of pie. I win at weekends and cooking, right?

Remember the pastry I talked about in the nut butter pies post? This is the exact same pastry – which means you can always half and half it and score two types of treats for roughly the same effort. Or just double it, you know. For the filling, I’ve used fresh cranberries – plenty of other berries would also work, I’d say blackberries or raspberries particularly well. Cranberries seemed a lot more fitting for the holidays though – they bring a slight sour tang too, which is divine contrast to the sweet pastry.

Right, Jessica Jones is calling, y’all – here’s how you can get these beautiful pies.

To make the shortcrust pastry, you’ll need:
375g plain white flour
125g granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg for egg wash
250g butter, cubed and slightly softened

In a large bowl, work the butter into the flour until mix resembled breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar and combine.
Break egg into the flour mix and continue to work dough until it comes together.
Turn onto work surface, wrap in cling film and place in fridge for min. 10 minutes.

To make the filling, you’ll need:
300g fresh cranberries
150g granulated sugar
juice and zest of 2 clementines
1 pinch of salt
1/3 tablespoon cornflour

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan , combine and heat over medium heat.
Cranberries will start bursting and leaking juice in about 3 minutes.
Stir to make sure mixture doesn’t burn.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, puree the berries to a rough consistency.
Taste and adjust for sweetness if necessary.
Leave aside to cool before assembling the pies.

To bake the pies, preheat oven at 220C.
Grease tin well. I used a mini mince pie tin, but good alternatives are muffin or Yorkshire pudding tins.
Roll pastry on a lightly floured surface, to a 3in thickness.
Using a round cookie / pastry cutter  / improvisation (I used espresso cups…), cut rounds of pastry to fit your tin.
Place pastry rounds in tin, gently moulding the pastry to the shape of the tin.
Spoon filling on top of each pastry round, careful not to overfill.
Gather remaining pastry, knead lightly and roll again.
Cut toppers for the pies – I used some Christmas shaped cutters just for variety.
Place toppers over filling.
Brush with egg wash.
Bake for 12 – 14 mins, until pastry is golden.

Enjoy,

Alexis xxx