Christmas Mince Pies
"For years it was a family competition of sorts to see who would be the first to bring home Christmas mince pies to share. When my mom started making these, the store-bought ones suddenly became so mediocre that our annual bit of fun fell away because no-one would eat them anymore!"
photo by jillyc49
- Ready In:
- 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Yields:
-
12 pies
ingredients
-
QUICK FRUIT MINCEMEAT
- 1⁄4 cup melted butter
- 1⁄3 cup brown sugar
- 100 g raisins
- 50 g sultanas
- 50 g black currants
- 50 g candied peel
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and grated
- 1⁄3 cup chopped glace cherries
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1⁄2 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 25 -50 ml brandy
-
PASTRY
- 500 ml cake flour, loosely measured
- 50 ml cornflour
- 50 ml icing sugar
- 175 g butter
- 1 egg
- 2 ml vanilla extract
directions
-
QUICK FRUIT MINCEMEAT:
- Combine all ingredients and set aside for flavours to infuse.
-
PASTRY:
- Sift flour, cornflour, and icing sugar.
- Rub in the butter.
- Beat egg and vanilla together then add, mixing well.
- Knead into a ball without overhandling the pastry.
- Roll out thinly on a floured board and cut into 3" rounds.
- Reroll offcuts until all the pastry is used.
- Place rounds in a patty pan, place a heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle of each pastry round and cover with second pastry round.
- Press edges together with the prongs of a fork and prick each top twice.
- Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes or until pale gold.
- Leave to cool slightly before removing to cooking rack.
- Dust lightly with icing sugar.
- COOKS NOTE - If you don't have a patty pan, place the pies on a cookie sheet rather than in a muffin tray, which is too deep.
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Reviews
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Exactly what I was looking for, with the huge bonus of actually getting a recipe to make *quick* fruit mincemeat myself - which is important in a country like Germany (they don't know what fruit mince is, so it's impossible to get hold of in supermarkets and so forth). So thanks! (-:= -
This is a quick easy to make recipe. The pastry worked REALLY well for me. I have made it my sweet pastry base from now on. Don't make the pastry too thin, cause that's when I ran into trouble. Absolutely delicious. Added dried sugared ginger for a little extra zing. I made 3 batches in quick succession before we slowed down!! Made them in patty cake trays and just didn't push the base into the pan, but let it settle as it wanted to. Popped the lid on and forked around the edge to seal them. Worked a charm. For easier measuring 500ml cake flour = 2 cups or 250gms. 50ml cornflour = 1/4 cup or 30 gms, and 50ml icing sugar = 1/4 cup or 40gms. Thanks for posting. -
Hi Ive never made pastry before and I found the pastry far too dry so I added an extra egg and then some water. In another batch that I made I just used two egg yolkes, 1 rinde of an Orange and about 3 table spoons of orange juice, put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. When I rolled out the pastry i had to put flour down but the mixture was georgous an so easy to work with. The mince pies turned out great!
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tops!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Bokenpop aka Mad
Milford, Delaware
I was born and raised in South Africa but now live in Delaware USA. Since I can remember I have been cooking! My first real cooking experience was when I was 7. I came home from school one afternoon and felt like French toast. My elder brother was home with his friends and did not want to make it for me, so I got a pan out, put it on the stove, turned the stove on to high. After that I could not remember what to do, but I knew that French toast involved bread so I put the bread in the hot pan without grease and poured milk over it! Oy vey... My brother's friend asked me what I was trying to make and I told him. He laughed and told me I was making it wrong but he also taught me how to make French toast the right way. I came home every day after that and made French toast. I felt so confident with the little bit of knowledge I had acquired that I soon started experimenting with other things. Nothing was going to stop me! The first full meal I ever made for my family was boiled rice and oven roasted chicken pieces with a steamed vegetable medley. I was 8 years old and my mom was in hospital. My dad was struggling to hold down an intensely busy job, keep the family going and be with my mom, so I thought I would help him. I don't think he believed that I had done it on my own. I remember telling him that I read in a cookery book how to make a roast chicken but I did not know what "a" rosemary was so I just put the chicken in the dish without it. Decades later with a myriad tried and tested recipes behind me - flops and failures included - I know my way around any food item and kitchen utensil, much to my family's delight!
