Perfect Mince Pie Recipe
Prep time: 1:15 mins | Cook time: 40 mins | Makes: 12 pies
Ingredients
Mince Pie Filling:
- 100g raisins
- 100g cranberries
- 100g dried fruit mix
- 200g pine nuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
- 2 small apples, peeled, cored & chopped into small cubes
- 125g brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 80g butter, cubed
- 100ml brandy (optional)
- 2 Tbsp whiskey (optional)
- 1 whole star anise
- 2 cloves, crushed & ground
Shortcut Pastry:
- 160g plain flour
- 75g butter, cubed and extra to grease tin
- 20g icing sugar
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- Pinch of salt
A fan of mince pies? Christmas is known to be the one moment of the year to bring out our mince pie traditions. Served on a platter to family & friends, they're impossible to resist.
In the past, mince pies were originally made with meat fillings. The tradition goes all the way back to the middle ages when people would eat them from Christmas Day to Twelfth Night (5th January), as it was believed to bring them happiness for the next 12 months.
Regardless, mince pies now become one of the best holiday treats to serve, with the recipe since modified to be more akin to Christmas pudding with a sweet, fruity filling. So let's discover how to make them using this amazing fruit mince pie recipe!
Recipe adapted from Turkeys for Life
Method
Add the mince pie filling ingredients above (except the brandy/whiskey) to a large saucepan. Heat mixture over medium heat and stir gently. Once butter has melted, allow mixture to simmer for around 15 minutes and stir occasionally.
Remove filling mixture from the heat and allow to cool completely. Add brandy/whiskey and mix in gently. Finally, pour your mince pie filling to preserving jars and tightly seal the lid. You can store mince pie filling for later use.
Sieve your all-purpose flour and icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add in your butter cubes, and with cold hands rub the butter, flour, and sugar together. Do this quickly and keep going until the mixture is held together but crumbly.
Add in the beaten egg yolk. Using one hand, bring the pastry together until it forms a ball of dough. Lightly flour it and wrap tightly in cling wrap. Leave to rest in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
Lightly dust your surface with flour. Bring out your shortcut pastry, slice around a quarter of it and set aside, covered. Take the rest of the pastry and flatten down on the surface. Dust with flour as needed.
Roll pastry dough into a circular shape until it's approximately 3mm thick. Use a cutter to cut 12 circles out of the pastry. You can also use your pie tins as measurement for the circles.
Preheat oven to 200ºC. Lightly grease the inside of your pie tin moulds with a knob of butter. Place the circles of pastry over each mould and gently push it to cover the sides – no need to push it too deep into the edges. Simply let the pastry pieces rest.
Add 1 heaped teaspoon of mince pie filling to each pastry. Be careful not to overfill. Take the rest of your pastry and roll out. Using a star shaped cutter or any shaped cutter, make 12 shapes. Place each one carefully on top of each mince pie. Once ready, place mince pies in the centre of the oven.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until pies are golden. Once baked, remove pie tray from the oven and leave to cool. To serve, carefully pop them out of mini tart tin using a thin knife. Place on a platter and dust icing sugar over the top. You can also serve them warm with ice cream!
