Makes 18 small pies

Ingredients:

• 5 tsp Spiced Christmas Tea
• 100g dried cranberries
• 50g dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 150g good quality fruit mince
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 small eating apple, peeled and grated
• 1 large sheet sweet shortcrust pastry (28 x 45 cm)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

Place 3 tsp of Spiced Christmas Tea in a small heatproof jug and pour over 150ml boiling water. Steep for 10 minutes. Place dried cranberries and apricots in a bowl, strain brewed tea over the fruit, cover and allow to plump for at least an hour.

Strain off liquid and combine soaked fruit with fruit mince, brown sugar and grated apple. Finely grind remaining 2 tsp of Christmas Tea and stir into the mixture. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 190°C (fan-forced) and lightly grease 18 holes of two 12-hole patty-pan tins. Cut 18 circles of pastry slightly larger than the patty holes and gently press into each hole. Cut 18 stars from remaining pastry. Chill bases and stars in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Spoon a tablespoon of fruit mince mixture into each pastry base. Top with a pastry star and brush lightly with beaten egg. Bake for 15–20 minutes until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling.

Allow to cool in the tins briefly before easing out with a flat-bladed knife. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with combined icing sugar and cinnamon just before serving. Best eaten the day they are made, but will keep in an airtight container for a day or two.