I have adapted this recipe from Mini Berry Nutella Heart Pies.

To me, strawberry in winters is what the mangoes are in the summers. And with the leaping away winters, strawberry compote is a ritual in my kitchen. Lemon juice adds the perfect tang to the compote. I always make a point to use the last stash of strawberries available in the market before they are gone.

I have made a few changes in the recipe as per my preference and couldn't disagree much with the end results. The pie crust was crunchy at the edges and equally soft towards the center. The strawberry compote can be replaced by any jam available in the pantry.

INGREDIENTS

For pie crust

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 tsp cider vinegar

1/4 cup milk, cold

Milk, for coating the pies

For strawberry compote

1 cup dices strawberries

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp lemon juice

METHOD

For pies

Whisk together egg, vinegar and water in a bowl.

In another bowl, add flour, sugar, salt and mix well. To this, add cold butter and beat until evenly mixed. In the end, add egg and water mixture to the flour to form a soft dough. Cover the dough in a cling wrap and keep in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and leave it to soften for about 10 minutes before rolling into pies.

Dust flour on the surface and roll out the dough into a thin layer, of approximately 1/2 cm thickness. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the dough. You can cut the dough into any desirable shape. But make sure you cut them into even shapes as we need to join 2 pieces together.

On a piece of dough, place a spoonful of strawberry compote, dip a finger in the water and run along the sides of the dough. Place another piece of dough on top of it and press the outsides down with a fork to seal it properly. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough.

Brush the pies with milk to give it a shiny, golden brown finish. Bake the pies in a pre heated oven at 190C for about 20 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and strawberry compote !

For strawberry compote

Take strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook on medium flame for about 10-12 minutes till the strawberries are soft and a thick syrup forms. Let it cool down completely.

NOTES

Feel free to adjust butter and sugar as per need.

Usually, egg + water mixture is used to brush the pies before baking. It can be replaced with milk wash also.

You can use regular jam for the filling in case you don't have fresh strawberries to make the compote.