Mini Bramley Apple Crumble Pies

The perfect alternative to a mince pie! (with a crumble topping twist)

My ideal Boxing Day - crackling log fires, cosy homemade comfort food and playing a load of silly board games with my family.

It was such a treat to be able to spend the afternoon in the kitchen with my mum, covered in flour and crumble mixture, baking apple crumble pies mm mm. I'm not the world's biggest mince pie fan, so I decided to bake a delicious alternative for the family.

Serve with a dollop of brandy butter and it's a Christmassy explosion to your taste buds!

What You'll Need //

2 lb bramley apples - peeled & cored
1 lb mixed fruit -(raisins etc)
2 oz soft light brown sugar
1 tsp  ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 lemon - zest only
1 roll of short crust pastry - or here's a 'from scratch' recipe
a little demerara sugar for sprinkling

Crumble
120g plain flour
60g caster sugar
60g unsalted butter -room temp & chopped into cubes

Preheat oven to 190 degrees

Chop your apples into bite sized pieces and throw into a large saucepan on a low heat. Add the sugar, cinnamon & ginger also. Stir often and leave to simmer for 30 mins.

Add your mixed fruit and lemon zest. Stir & simmer for another 20 mins or until soft and mushy.

Whilst waiting for your sauce to cook, roll out your pastry and cut out as many circles as your cutter will cut! Place circles in a cupcake tray.

Now for the fun part - the crumble. Tip the 3 crumble ingredients into a large bowl and gently rub between your fingers and thumb to make a light breadcrumb-like mixture. Try not to overwork it.

Add a spoonful of the apple sauce mixture to your pastry moulds and sprinkle over a spoonful of crumble to each. Finish off with a pinch of demerara sugar on each.

Bake for 20 minutes and leave to cool on a cooling rack before gobbling up with a glass of mulled wine.

I hope you all had the merriest of Christmasses gals and guys! Take a look at my boxing day chutney recipe for a scrumptious accompaniment to your left over turkey.

Betty x