It’s the Christmas season and this means families getting together to spend some quality time. Spending quality time involves food, in fact, a lot of food. Speaking of food, ever since I was little(r), I always dreamed of having a tea party. Yes a tea party complete with fancy china and all sorts of sweets that I made for everyone attending. I think I am close to achieving  this dream now that I know how easy it is to make these pies.

I am sure most of you know what black jack is. A common weed  that has awns which get  stuck to your clothes if you happen to be near a bush of some sort. As irritating as this plant can be, it also has benefits like how it makes a super flavorful tea.  Seriously, my list of teas(is this a word?) is growing. All you  have to do is get some black jack leaves with their flowers too(preferably the tender ones), wash them and  boil them in enough water.  After it has boiled,strain out the awn, leaf and flower particles, add sugar and serve. It’s that simple really. So in honor of the holiday season, I thought this super easy black jack tea would really go well with these jam pies. Since the teas is easy to make, I am sharing the pie recipe below

What you will need:
Zesta Red Plum Jam
2C. Baking flour
½ C. Margarine (blue band)/ Butter
1/2 C. Cold water
1Tbsp. Sugar
½ Tsp. Salt

Method
Sift flour in a bowl. Add salt and sugar. Mix well.
Add margarine and using your hands mix it in the flour until the mixture becomes coarse.
Next add the water, a tablespoon at a time, while mixing. Keep adding little water until a firm dough is formed. It should not be very wet and should not stick to your hands so much (you may need more or less water).
After you have formed a firm dough, put it back in the bowl and keep it refrigerated for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove from the refrigerator and, on a floured surface, cut the dough into two equal parts.
Using a floured rolling pin or a glass bottle, roll the dough out till it is thin enough. Using a circular cookie cutter or glass, cut out as many circles as possible. The size of the cutter determines the size of the pies. If you want them large, use a larger cutter and vice versa. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the scraps and continue cutting out circles until the dough is over.
Spoon ½teaspoon of the Zesta red plum jam into the center of half of the pie circles. Make sure to leave enough of a border around the filling to seal them shut. Do not overfill!
Brush around the edges of the dough with a finger dipped in a whisked egg. This will be the “glue”.
Place a second dough circle on top each filled circle then use a fork to press the edges together.
Cut a hole on the top of each pie with a sharp knife and place on prepared sheet pan.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Bake the pies for 15 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. Enjoy!
Makes 25+

I realize the method is lengthy but it’s just me trying to break down the whole process which is easy. So no worries. While making the tea, I grabbed the camera and went out in the back yard to shoot some weeds A.K.A Black Jack. That’s how easy it is to find black jack.

Happy Holidays

🙂

Sophie