Year after year I try to make these simPle little pastries, and year after year the same thing goes wrong.
You have to put a spoonful or so of filling on a round of pastry, then pinch the sides up, or fold them over, to form a triangular 'pie' with the sides sloping inwards over the filling with just a bit of the filling peeking up through the middle.
It doesn't matter what pastry you use, and I've tried short, puff, yeast, homemade, readymade, dairy-free, all-butter. I've tried brushing the pastry with milk, egg, eggwhite, milk-and-egg, water. But I always get the same result:
The pies open up.
I am currently eyeing balefully gazing at a tray of circular shortcrust biscuits with a poppy-seed topping. I'm sure they'll taste nice enough BUT THEY LOOK WRONG!
Heeeelp!