Ingredients

Filling
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups roughly chopped mushrooms (I love a mix of cremini and shiitake)
1/2 tsp sage (fresh or dried), minced
1/2 tsp thyme (fresh or dried), minced
1/2 tsp rosemary (fresh or dried), minced
1 1/2 cups (300g) pre-roasted & peeled chestnuts, quartered ( I use 3 T&T brand bags)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Spelt Crust
2 1/2 cups sprouted spelt flour, plus more for rolling
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
cold water

Method

1. Heat a large pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and heat until shimmering.
2. Add red onions to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent but not yet browning.
3. Add mushrooms and garlic to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have become golden brown.
4. Turn heat to medium. Stir in the remaining ingredients for the filling (sage, thyme, rosemary, chestnuts, salt, and pepper). Cook for 2-4 minutes to heat through chestnuts and let the ingredients get to know each other. 
5. Set filling aside to cool while you work on the crust.
6. Mix together spelt flour and salt with a fork or pastry cutter.
7. Cut the shortening into the flour using a fork or a pastry cutter, until it is evenly distributed and there are no more large chunks.
8. Add in cold water a few tablespoons at a time, mixing with a cutter, fork, or your hands, until the dough comes together completely. Spelt flour can take a bit more water to come/stay together compared to wheat flour, so you will use more water than a typical crust recipe. You want to be able to knead the dough without bits crumbling off of it. That way, when it is time to roll the dough, it will not crumble apart.
9. Dust a clean working surface and a rolling pin with spelt flour. Roll the dough to 0.25cm thick. 
10. Using a circular cookie cutter or the lip of a drinking glass, cut circles out of the rolled dough.
11. Roll the scraps into a ball and reroll and cut the dough until you have used most of the dough and have an even number of circles.
12. Preheat oven to 350°F.
13. Spoon a bit of the filling into the centre of half of the circles of dough.
14. Using your finger or a pastry brush, brush a bit of water around the edges of the dough around the filling and then top with an unfilled circle of dough. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the two circles together to keep everything compact.
15. Using a sharp knife, score a whole in the top of each hand pie to allow steam to escape while the pies cook in the oven. You can cut any pattern of your preference here; I typically make a cross-hatch.
16. Place hand pies onto lined baking sheets and bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is cooked through. 
17. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Leftover cooked pies can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

Notes:

1. Spelt flour is NOT gluten-free – please keep this in mind if you have an intolerance/allergy or if you are serving it to guests.
2. This recipe can also be used to make a full-sized pie instead of hand pies. Just roll the dough out, fit it into a pie pan, and cut away any excess dough. Add the filling to the pie and use the scraps to create decorations on top of the pie. Cook at 350°F for 40-50 minutes (depending on your oven, until the crust is cooked through. You may also choose to mince the mushrooms and chestnuts instead of roughly chopping them for easier serving!