Light ginger pies with vegetarian filling

• vegetarian meat filling500g g
• orange↗1

  zest

• Granny Smith apple↗1

  peeled, cored and grated

• whole milk↗2 tbsp tbsp
• powdered sugar↗

  for dusting

• plain flour↗375g g

  plus extra for dusting

• powdered sugar↗1½ tbsp tbsp
• ground ginger↗1 tbsp tbsp
• ground cinnamon↗1½ tsp tsp
• nutmeg↗½

  finely grated

• cold unsalted butter↗225g g

  cut into cubes

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   First prepare the dough. Add flour, powdered sugar, spices and a pinch of salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add cold water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing between additions, until the dough begins to form a ball. Set aside one‑third of the dough and shape it into a flat disc, then do the same with the remaining larger piece of dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

2. 2

   In a bowl, combine the vegetarian meat filling, orange zest and grated apple. Preheat the oven to 200 °C/180 °C with convection/gas 6. Roll out the large dough disc on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 3‑4 mm. Use a 10 cm diameter cutter to cut out 12 circles and place them into the wells of a 12‑cup muffin tin. Distribute the filling among the dough shells. Brush the edges of the dough with milk.

3. 3

   Roll out the smaller piece of dough to the same thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use an 8 cm diameter cutter to cut another 12 circles and cover the pies with them, gently pressing the edges to seal. If desired, cut Christmas shapes from the leftover dough and attach them on top.

4. 4

   Bake for 18‑22 minutes, until the dough turns golden. Remove from the tins and let cool on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.