A deliciously festive and easy mince pie recipe made with crumbly, orange flavoured pastry and a sweet, mincemeat and cranberry filling. The pastry can be mixed by hand in just 10 minutes and the pies themselves need just 15 minutes in the oven and can be enjoyed immediately or frozen for another time.
Course afternoon tea, Christmas, Dessert, party food, pudding, Snack
Add the flour and cold, cubed butter to a large mixing bowl. Use your finger tips to rub the butter into the flour until a breadcrumb consistency is reached.
Next add the ground almonds, icing sugar and orange zest to the bowl. Stir into the crumb until evenly mixed.
Whisk one large egg in a jug then gradually add to the mixture. Mix well between each addition and stop adding the egg when the pastry starts to come together. TIP: If you have added all the egg and the pastry hasn't come together, add small spoonfuls of cold water until it does come together.
Turn the pastry out onto a clean, floured work surface and shape into a ball. Wrap the pastry in cling film and place into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. The colder the better!
Once the pastry is well chilled, roll out on a floured work surface into a rough circle around 2-3mm thick. Work quickly and don't over handle the pastry. Warm pastry is more likely to break.
Use an 8cm round cutter to cut out 16 circles for the base of each mince pie. TIP: use a size of round cutter that is slightly larger than the holes of your muffin or mince pie tray.
Gather up the leftover pastry and reshape into a ball. Then roll out again and use a 7cm round fluted cutter to cut out 16 pastry lids. For extra detail use a small star cutter to cut out star shapes in the pastry lids. TIP: save the cut out stars and bake as they are for little extra pastry treats
To flavour your mincemeat with cranberries: Transfer the mincemeat to a bowl then stir in 2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce (optional).
To prevent the mince pies from sticking during baking, lightly grease your cupcake or mince pie tray and lightly sprinkle with flour, tapping off the excess. Then carefully place the larger pastry circles into the holes of the tray. Push the pastry gently into the corners using your finger tips or the rounded end of a champaign cork if you have long nails.
Add a spoonful of mincemeat filling to each pastry base. Don't overfill and try to keep the filling just under the top of the pastry base.
Place a lid on top of each pie and gently press down so the lid touches the top edges of the base.
Brush the lids of the mince pies with whisked egg then place in the oven at 170℃/340℉ and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Video
Notes
Adding egg to pastry: Only 1 egg is required to make this pastry recipe. If the egg is particularly large you may not need all of it. So add the egg gradually and stop when the pastry starts to come together. Or if you don't have enough egg add small spoonfuls of cold water until the pastry starts to come together. How to stop the pastry from breaking when placing in the tray holes? Pastry is a lot easier to handle when cold. Once the pastry has been made, make sure it is well chilled for at least 30 minutes. Leave it for longer if you can. Then roll out quickly and try not to over handle the cut out circles before placing in the tray.How should mince pies be stored? Allow the mince pies to fully cool then wrap in foil or cling film and store in an air tight container for up to 1 week.Can mince pies be frozen? Freezing mince pies is a fantastic way to have homemade mince pies on hand whenever you want them. Allow the pies to fully cool then stack in a sealable container and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, pop out as many pies as you need then leave on the side to fully defrost for a couple of hours. To reheat, place defrosted pies in a warm oven for 5 minutes.What can I add to a jar of mincemeat? This recipe suggests adding cranberry sauce to the mincemeat for a bit of extra Christmas flavour. Other additions could include orange zest, crushed hazelnuts, splash of rum or brandy, tinned cherries (chopped), dried apricots or some christmassy spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg.