Mini apple and wendsleydale pies

Apples, apples everywhere and all a bite to eat! A highlight of the English harvest must be the glorious variety of apples that grace our trees. I'd rather like an apple tree or even a whole orchard - although until then the grocer will do - and what else to do but make a vast array of apple pies out of them. For me, it's got to be a Bramley though. The Bramley is the pride of all cooking apples and grown only in this country - and did you know that 2009 is 200th anniversary of the Bramley!!

Cooking apples are too sour to eat raw due to thier high acid content and having a lower sugar than your average dessert or eating apple. Unlike a dessert apple which stays crunchy but loses its favour once cooked, the Bramley falls beautifully during cooking - giving the Bramely filled pie a wonderful soft, fluffy and velevty texture and tasting distincltly appley once cooked!

Apple pies all too often make me think of America, even though they are apparently the nations facourite dessert, so I wanted to make sure my pies had a distinctly English twist. So what better thought I, that the Yorkshire favourite - Wendsleydale. "An apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze" as they say. Well, they say that in Yorkshire anyway, and I'm not going to complain about getting more hugs. Even cheese ones!

If you're using Wendsleydale though, the best way to go is with Hawes dairy cheese - the only Wendsleydale now actually made in the Wendsleydale region. Creamy yet crumbly it is a wonderful cheese - and makes the loveliest addition to the apple pies!

Since I was making these for a picnic (yes in October) I prefer to make mini ones as they pack better and just look soooooo cute! Each pie gets its own little hug of cheese :)


Here's a photo from the fabulous Sarka showing off these little gems...



see more of her photos of my pies here

Ideally, these are best served smothered in lashings of hot custard (proper custard though never creme anglaise!). Then all you need is a bowl, a sofa and a hug of your own ;)


Recipe follows.....


Mini apple and wendsleydale pies

375g shortcrust pastry
3 medium Bramley apples
50g sultanas
1 tbsp sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp each of ground nutmeg & ground ginger
100g Wendsleydale with cranberries
(or add 50g dried cranberries if you use plain wendsleydale)
beaten egg or milk to wash

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Roll out half the pastry to be relatively thin (no thicker than a pound coin) and cut large rounds, placing them into a floured patty tin. Leave the spare pastry and the patty tin in the fridge until ready.

2. Peel and core the apples and chop into small chunks. Place in a small pan with the sultanas, sugar and spices. Add a few tbsp of water and stew until the apples start to go soft (but not completely disintegrated!). This should be about 10mins over a low heat.

3. Put a few tsp of the mixture into each pastry case and crumble some cheese (and cranberries if using) over the top of each one.

4. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut rounds for lids for each pie, crimping the edges to seal. Use any leftover pastry to make mini leaves for the tops. Wash each lid with egg or milk and bake 15- 20mins until slightly golden.

5. Great warm or cold and lovely with custard!