Mince Pies

A classic Christmas bake, perfect for the festive season. Deep filled mince pies made with shortcrust pastry and a fruity and boozy mincemeat

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword Mince Pies, Pastry

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 20

Chilling time 30

Total Time 1 35

Servings

Calories 377kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

300 g Plain flour
50 g Caster sugar
¼ tsp Cinnamon optional
180 g Butter unsalted, cold
½ tsp Orange extract optional
1 Egg large
625 g Mincemeat homemade or shop bought

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Put the plain flour, caster sugar and cinnamon into a mixing bowl and stir together. Or you can put them straight into your food processor and pulse it a few times to combine the ingredients
Put the flour mixture into a food processor and add the butter, pulse the mixture a few times until the butter is mixed in and the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you are making the dough by hand, add the butter to the flour mixture and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can also use a pastry blender or a fork
Add the egg and orange exgtract and mix until combined, you should be able to squeeze a handful of the mixture in your hand and it sticks together to form a dough. Use your hands to push all the mixture together into a disc of smooth dough. Wrap it in clingfilm and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes
Pre-heat your oven to 200C Fan/425F/Gas Mark 7, grease a muffin/cupcake tin lightly with butter and add strips of baking paper
Roll out the pastry onto a floured surface to a thickness of around 2mm, and cut out the pie bases using a 10cm round cutter (I like to use the scalloped edge but you can use the plain round one too)
Place the pastry bases into the tin, use your fingers to press them against the bottom and sides gently
Fill each pastry case with mincemeat
Roll out the remaining dough and cut out the pie lids using a 7cm round cutter, again I like to use the scalloped edge but it's up to you. Or cut out star shapes, the star cutter I used was 6.5cm at it's widest point. Add the lids on, if using the round ones, use a sharp knife to put a small slit in the centre to let steam escape
Bake them for 20-25 minutes until they are golden and bubbling. Let them cool in the tin for about 10 minutes. Remove them from the tin using the strips of baking paper to help you, and either serve immediately or let them cool and serve them cold, ideally dusted with icing sugar
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place for 5-7 days

Video

Notes

I used unsalted butter for the pastry, you can also use a baking spread like Stork, either way make sure it is cold.
I added some cinnamon and orange to the pastry for extra flavour, but this is optional.
You can use shop bought pastry, if you need to save time.
I use shop bought mincemeat for this recipe, but feel free to use a homemade version.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50).
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition