To make the recipe alcohol-free, you can use orange juice or apple juice to soak your fruits and nuts in.
You can use any dried fruits you love or have. For this version I used dates, cranberries, figs, prunes and apricots.
YIELDS
12
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 100 g Dried fruits
- 25 g Finely hopped walnuts
- 1 Grated apple
- 1 tsp Orange zest
- 1 tsp Fresh ginger, grated
- 1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
- 3 tbsp Maple syrup
- Brandy or sherry
- 30 g Coconut oil
- 75 g GF flour
- 7 tbsp Water
- 75 g Ground almond
Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix together the dried fruits with orange zest, grated apple, ginger, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Add enough brandy or sherry (or orange juice) to cover the mix. Keep it covered and store in the fridge for at least 24 hours to let the flavors to meld together.
2. Then using another bowl, combine coconut oil, flour and ground almonds with the water and form a firm dough with your hands. Add the water a tablespoon at a time to avoid overdoing it.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C.
4. Flour a clean, flat surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2 cm thick rectangular shape. Try to avoid breaking.
5. Using a cookie cutter or a glass upside down, cut out circles of the dough. Place them in a greased muffin tin and gently press down on the edges in each muffin hole.
6. Once done, fill each pie with the mince (about 1 tbsp each).
7. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out the top of the pies. I used a cookie stamp to create a snowflake on top of each, you can leave them plain. Sometimes i end up with less dough, then being creative helps. Usually cutting out star shapes save me.
8. Place the tops over the mince on each pie.
9. Bake the pies in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the pasty is firm and golden. Let them cool before removing from the muffin tin to keep them more firm.
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Photo: Imola Toth
