Brandied Apricot Pies

This is a little shortcrust pastry pie filled with dried apricots cooked in brandy, cinnamon, cloves and bay, topped with a little apricot jam and sugar nibs.

I have learnt two lessons today. The first is to pierce a hole in the pastry lid when baking a little fruit pie, and the second to not use the muffin tin I used as it isn't very non-stick. But in amongst these issues, the pies are delicious and don't look too bad either! I managed to ease them out ok and made up for the puffed up lids halfway through cooking, just about salvaging them!