Christmas pies

Give these festive favorites a contempory twist and make up your own delightful fillings.

Preparation time: 1½ hours
Baking time: 15-20 minutes
Makes: 30 dainty pies

For the pastry
500g (16 oz) cake flour
70g (2 oz) sugar
300g (10 oz) cold butter, cut into cubes
4 Tbsp ice cold water
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

For the fillings
Nutella, pistachio and pear
3/4 cup nutella (hazelnut spread)
50g (1.6 oz) pistachios, finely chopped
100g (3 oz) dried pear, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Frangelica liqueur*

Cherry, pecan and apricot
1/2 cup fresh cherries, finely chopped
50g (1.6 oz) pecan nuts, finely chopped
50g (1.6 oz) soft dried apricots, finely chopped
4 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp whiskey (optional)

Castor sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Prepare the pastry:
Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl.
Add the butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Whisk the water and egg yolks together and add half to the flour mixture. Stir lightly with a butter or little palette knife until the mixture holds together.
Knead with your hands adding a little more of the egg mixture if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
 
Prepare the filling:
Add the ingredients for the nutella, pistachio and pear filling in a bowl and stir until well combined.
Combine the ingredients for the cherry, pecan and apricot filling in a separate bowl.
Cover and refrigerate fillings until required.

Prepare the pastry:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and lightly grease two small muffin tins.
Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to a thickness of 3mm (0.1 inches).
Cut out rounds using a cookie cutter to fit the base of the muffin tins. Cut the same number of stars (or other preferred shapes) to use as lids.
Place ½ - 1 tsp of the filling into the base of each pastry shell, alternating the fillings.

Secure the stars over the pastry shell and brush lightly with ice water or whisked egg white.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with a little castor sugar while still warm if desired. Allow for the pies to cool in trays for 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a cooling rack.
Store in a container with a tight fitting lid.

Notes:
Frangelica is a hazelnut liqueur and can be replaced with cofee liqueur (Kahlua), Chocolate liqueur (Nachtmusik) or strong espresso cofee.

Kid-friendly:
Ignite a passion for baking in your little chef's that goes beyond licking the spoon.