Blackberry and apple parcels (from the Little Dish Family Cookbook)

I adore cooking with kids and while it’s great fun to get out the icing sugar and chocolate and make decadent treats, it’s also important to have plenty of healthy recipes in your repertoire.

Step forward, the The Little Dish Family Cookbook, packed with 101 family-friendly recipes to make and enjoy with your kids.

You probably know Little Dish as producers of healthy, pre-packaged kids’ meals made from 100% natural ingredients. Well the founder, mother of two Hillary Graves, is also the author of this new cookbook. It has a lovely selection of recipes to choose from, ranging from low-sugar granola, to oven omelette, to smoothies and soups, veg packed bakes and lean bolognese, through to fruit desserts and simple sponges. And all are designed so that there’s plenty of opportunity for little fingers to help.

The first recipe we made from the Little Dish Family Cookbook was blackberry and apple parcels. It’s a lovely, simple recipe to cook with the kids and the touch of vanilla in the apples is absolutely delicious.

We have loads of blackberries growing in the garden, so we got up early and picked as many as we could – there were more than enough!

Here’s the recipe for these blackberry and apple parcels. Notes in italics are mine.

Ingredients

• 300g (10.6 oz) apples, chopped (we peeled ours too)
• 75g (2.6 oz) soft brown sugar
• 200g (7.1 oz) blackberries
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (we used a few twists of a vanilla grinder)
•  320g (11.3 oz) ready-rolled puff pastry (2 packs)
• 1 medium free-range egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon demerara sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan, 350F, Gas mark 4) (we used 160C fan)

2. Place the apples in a medium pan with soft brown sugar. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the apples are soft. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the blackberries and vanilla extract.

3. Cut the pastry into six 10cm rectangles (we cut 12 rectangles per sheet, cutting each sheet once along the centre of the length, then six times across). Using a slotted spoon (we just used our fingers), divide the fruit mixture equally between half the pastry rectangles, leaving a 1-2cm border.

4.Brush the borders of the topped pastry rectangles with the beaten egg. Place the remaining pastry pieces over the top, pressing the edges down with a fork to seal in the filling.

5. Make 2 slits in the top of each pie to let the steam escape.

6. Brush the parcels with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the demerara sugar, if using. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through (check underneath to make sure they don’t have soggy bottoms!) Leave to cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.

Simple, right? Miss J, JD and I had great fun making these.

If you’d like to try it for yourself, you can grab a printable version of the recipe below. Enjoy!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Blackberry and apple parcels (from the Little Dish Family Cookbook)

These little puff pastry parcels, filled with apples and blackberries are perfect for an afternoon cooking with kids.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Desserts and sweet treats

Cuisine: British

Keyword: apple, blackberry, cooking with kids, kid friendly, pastry

Servings: 6 -12

Author: Emily Leary

Ingredients

• 300 g (10.58 oz) apples chopped
• 75 g (2.65 oz) soft brown sugar
• 200 g (7.05 oz) blackberries
• 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
• 320 g (11.29 oz) ready-rolled puff pastry 2 packs
• 1 medium free-range egg beaten
• 1 teaspoon demerara sugar optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan, 350F, Gas mark 4)
• Place the apples in a medium pan with soft brown sugar. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the apples are soft. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the blackberries and vanilla extract.
• Cut the pastry into six 10cm rectangles. Using a slotted spoon, divide the fruit mixture equally between half the pastry rectangles, leaving a 1-2cm border.
• Brush the borders of the topped pastry rectangles with the beaten egg. Place the remaining pastry pieces over the top, pressing the edges down with a fork to seal in the filling.
• Make 2 slits in the top of each pie to let the steam escape.
• Brush the parcels with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the demerara sugar, if using. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.

* Note: nutritional information is estimated, based on publicly available data. Nutrient values may vary from those published. Cuisines identify the primary region of inspiration for a dish.

Tried this recipe?Snap a pic and tag @amummytoo on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. I can’t wait to see your posts!

Are you tempted to try these blackberry and apple parcels at home?

For another treat for the kids to make, try these fun playing card sandwiches.

This is a commissioned post for Little Dish

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