Mince Pies

In my house Christmas Eve is traditionally the time where we make mince pies and this year was no exception. I took the opportunity to get a little guidance from my mum and also use her food processor to speed up the pastry making process.

Recipe

Ingredients

100g Unsalted Butter

225g Plain Flour

1 jar of shop bought mincemeat

Anything else for adding to the mincemeat (we used dried cranberries, grated apple and some fruity booze from the back of the drinks cabinet)

Milk for brushing

Icing sugar for dusting

Method

I used the food processor for making the pastry so it was super quick and easy to do. The butter and flour are blitzed together to make breadcrumbs. Then water is added bit by bit until, as if by magic, a clump of pastry appears. I then put that pastry in the fridge while we set to work on the mincemeat.

We usually put whatever we can find in the cupboards in order to beef up the shop bought mincemeat. As you can see from the ingredients above the ingredients above were less “traditional” maybe. But they worked.

In my house the mince pies are never totally closed but instead topped by a pastry Christmas shape. This year I rolled out the pastry to make trees and holly leaves to adorn the pies. I then brushed them with a little milk to make sure they went a nice golden brown. I made 15 pies in total and these went into the oven at 180°C for about 20 mins.

 

After cooling I dusted them with a little icing sugar so they looked like they had been left out in the snow.

Results

I was really pleased by the way these pies turned out. The pastry was nice and light and crumbly. Although it wasn’t the same thickness for all the pies; none were too thick or thin. And not a soggy bottom anywhere! They were enjoyed by my whole family. Although my dad pronounced that the mincemeat “could have more booze”. I tend to agree and I think this was due to using the fruity stuff rather than something like brandy.

Next time I make pastry, which will be in my food processor less house, I will have to make it by hand. I hope that it isn’t too difficult of a challenge!

Score: 8.5/10

Soundtrack: Carols from Kings (another tradition!)