Cook the apple filling

• Simmer the chopped apples, salted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice in a saucepan until the apples have mostly softened.

Thicken the filling

• Mix the cornstarch with the cold water to make a slurry.
• Pour the slurry into the simmering apples and mix until thickened.
• Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven

• Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Cut out the pastry bases

• Use the heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out hearts from one sheet of pastry.

Cut the pastry strips

• Cut the second sheet of pastry into strips about 1.5 cm wide.

Fill the pies

• Place a heaped teaspoon of the cooled filling into the centre of each pastry heart.

Make the lattice tops

• Lay 3 parallel strips of pastry on top of each heart.
• Lay 3 more strips perpendicular to the first to create a lattice.

Seal the edges

• Cut off any excess pastry around the hearts.
• Use a fork to seal the edges.

Brush with egg

• Brush the pastry with the whisked egg.

Bake

• Bake at 180 °C until golden brown.