Mince Pies
mince pie recipe
Mince Pies
Recipe Type: Cakes & Baking
Cuisine: British
Author: Caroline Artiss
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 12 mins
Total time: 57 mins
Serves: 12
Ingredients
Pastry:
300g Plain Flour
200g Unsalted Butter (cold and diced)
75g ½ cup caster sugar
pinch salt
1 x tbsp cold water
Mince filling:
1 x 400g jar mince meat
100g / 1 cup dried mixed fruit (raisins/ candied peel)
2 tbsp roasted chopped hazelnuts
2 tbsp gran marnier (or brandy)
zest of 1 orange
icing sugar to dust once cooked
To serve:
1 x small tub / 1 cup clotted cream
½ tbsp caster sugar
½ tbsp gran marnier or brandy
zest of ½ orange
Equipment:
12 hole shallow baking tin
circle pastry cutters, 1 big and 1 smaller, or a star / any Christmas shape you like that will fit as a lid.
Instructions
Start by making the filling
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and leave to soak for ½ hour while you make the pastry
To make the pastry I normally use my food processor as it saves time
Add the flour butter and sugar and pulse until it forms bread crumbs
Add the salt and water and pulse until it forms big lumps then you can bring it together with your hands into a ball of dough
(If you are doing this by hand simply rub the butter and flour together with your finger tips until it forms breadcrumbs. Then add the sugar, salt and water and bring together into a ball of dough)
Cover it and leave it to rest in the fridge for ½ hour
Preheat oven to 190 c / gas 5
Roll the pastry out on a floured work surface using a floured rolling pin until it is about ½ cm thin Using round pastry cutters cut out 12 large round circles
And 12 smaller star shapes or circles for the lid
Flour your 12 hole baking tin and gently push one circle of pastry into each hole
Don’t press it hard or it will be difficult to get out once cooked
Add a large teaspoon of the filling into each pastry circle and top with your star shape or circle Brush with a little milk or egg and pop into your preheated oven for 10 – 12 minutes
They will be cooked when the pastry is very lightly golden on top
Leave to cool for 5 minutes then carefully take out to cool on a wire rack
I tend to carefully take them out when they are still warm just to make sure they don’t stick in the tin
Once they have cooled completely you can dust them with a little icing sugar
Serve either warm or cold with the special clotted cream – divine!
Notes
The filling can actually be made much in advance, I like to make a big batch and add a bit more alcohol and leave it in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks.