Apple and elderflower crumble pies

Our fridge was empty this morning, which always makes both me and Lu feel sad!  Languishing on an otherwise empty shelf was a packet of ready-made pastry.  This was a way to make it, and a slightly tired looking bag of granny smith apples, go a long way, and cheer us all up on a wintry day when everyone in our house is feeling under the weather!  The pastry was enough to make 12 large muffin sized pies and 12 mini ones.  A bit of spice, some elderflower cordial and the juice and zest of a clementine helped make them a bit more festive, what with Christmas only days away now.  A mouthful of a mini apple pie like this can't fail to make you smile!

Ingredients

375g ready-made shortcrust pastry

For the filling

Zest and juice of 1 clementine

2 tbsp elderflower cordial

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

6 apples (granny smith or other eating varieties)

2 oz caster sugar

For the crumble

2 oz caster sugar

1 oz ground walnuts

1 oz ground almonds

2 oz porridge oats
1 oz flour

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 oz butter, cubed

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.  Grease a 12 hole deep muffin tin and a 12 hole mini muffin tin. 
2. Roll the pastry out on a floured worktop, and use pastry cutters to cut out rounds the right size for the small and large muffin trays.  Carefully place a pastry round in each muffin hole and press down around the edges well.  Place in the fridge to let the pastry cases rest.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the clementine zest and juice, elderflower cordial, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Mix with a spoon.
4. Peel, core and finely dice the apples, and add them to the bowl, mixing well to coat the apple with the juice and spices. 
5. Add the sugar and mix well to macerate the apples.
6. In a separate mixing bowl, add all the crumble ingredients.  Use your fingers to rub the butter into the other ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs.
7. Remove the pastry cases from the fridge.  Spoon the apple mixture into each pastry case, and top with a spoonful of the crumble mixture.
8. Bake for 20 mins or until the pastry edges are golden.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins before using a palette knife to carefully turn out onto a wire rack.  Dust with icing sugar.