How to make mince pies for Christmas

22nd Dec 2022 Recipes

Get ready for Christmas with this recipe for delicious mince pies. Perfect to enjoy with a cup of mulled wine!

These traditional Christmas favourites are delicious served hot with cream. This version has an unusual iced topping that is baked on.

Ingredients

Makes 20

Preparation time: 40 minutes plus 30 minutes chilling time

Cooking time: 35 minutes

215g plain (all-purpose) flour
80g ground almonds
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp caster sugar
150g butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1 egg, lightly beaten
About 550g fruit mince, bought or homemade
125g brandy butter, bought or homemade
2 tbsp milk
1 egg white
185g icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted

Method

Use 20 tartlet tins. Sift the flour into a bowl; mix in the ground almonds, zest and sugar. Rub butter into flour mixture until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Use a round-bladed knife and mix in the egg until the dough comes together. Gather into a ball; knead briefly on a lightly floured work surface until smooth. Wrap in cling wrap; chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6). Roll out the dough very thinly; cut out 20 rounds 6 cm (21⁄2 in) in diameter with a fluted cookie cutter. Gather the trimmings and roll again very thinly; cut out 20 rounds 8 cm (3 in) in diameter.
Place larger rounds in the tins. Fill with fruit mince; top with 1 tsp brandy butter. Brush edges of pastry with a little milk and place a smaller round on top of each pie, pressing the edges together to seal.
Brush the tops with the milk and make a hole in the lid of each pie. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
For the icing, whisk the egg white until frothy, then beat in the sifted icing sugar. Spread a little icing over the top of the mince pies and arrange them on a baking tray. Bake at 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6) for 5–10 minutes or until the icing has browned a little and the pies are heated through. Leave them to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

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