Mince pie

Here is a mince pie made with the Christmas mincemeat, shortly before being polished off by me.  I like mince pies in all forms, whether made with shortcrust or puff pastry.  Last night I made them with shortcrust pastry.

As you will see from the picture at the bottom we love mince pies so much in this house that we also make them during the summer holidays.

This makes 24 mince pies.  You can freeze mince pies in the patty tins, once frozen you can then place them in a freezer bag for easier storage. When you are ready to cook simply place them back into the patty tin. They will need a few more minutes if cooking from frozen.

350g plain flour
175g butter
cold water

450g mincemeat

1 egg, beaten
light soft brown sugar or icing sugar to dust

Method

I always make my pastry in a food processor as it means you handle the pastry less and it makes for a crumblier texture.  Place the flour and butter in a processor and pulse until it becomes the texture of breadcrumbs. (If you are doing it by hand rub the butter and the flour lightly through your fingertips, lifting your hands up high in the air over the bowl as you do it until all of the butter and flour is combined and the texture of breadcrumbs).  Add enough cold water to form a dough (probably about 4-5 tablespoons, but add carefully) and mix until just combined.  Remove from the bowl and place in a plastic bag or cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 3mm thick.  Using a 7.5cm round pastry cutter, cut 24 rounds out of the pastry and using a 6 cm round pastry cutter cut another 24 rounds out.  You will need to re-roll the pastry to use it all up and I normally do this in two batches, splitting the dough into one ball that is two-thirds of the dough for the larger rounds and the second ball that is one-third of the dough for the smaller rounds.

Place the larger rounds into the bottom of each hole in two patty tins. Using a pastry brush, brush a little egg around the top of each pie.

Place a teaspoon of mincemeat into each pie, don’t overfill or it will burst out and burn during cooking.  Place the smaller rounds on top, pressing around the edge gently. Pierce a small hole in the top of each pie with the point of a sharp knife. Brush the top of each pie with egg.

Cook in a preheated oven at 200°c (400°f, gas mark 6) for 25-30 minutes until they are golden brown.  Dust with sugar or icing sugar as soon as they come out of the oven.

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6 thoughts on “Mince pie”

    1. Definitely Mary, they are easy and the homemade version tastes much better than any you can buy in the shops. Let me know how you get on.

  1. Oh wow, you have been busy since last I looked in. Your mince pies look gorgeous and I’m very envious. Don’t know what it is, but I seem incapable of making decent pastry.

  2. Pingback: Jam or lemon curd tarts « The Ordinary Cook

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