Festive Mince Pies

This is such an unbelievably easy mince pie recipe....

It goes without saying that the humble mince pie is a Christmas staple.  No home would be complete without them during the festive season.  Nothing quiet beats the smell of freshly baked mince pies piled up high on cooling racks in the kitchen.  Any excuse to have a cup of tea and a mince pie; a friend's coming round "Lets get the mince pies out", there's a good Christmas film on the TV "Lets get the mince pies out", it's cold outside "Lets get the mince pies out" ....and so it goes on.  Lets face it, it'd be pretty hard to imagine Christmas without them.

Mince pies originally had a few names, including "Christmas pie", "mutton pie" and "shrid pie".  They were traditionally made with mincemeat (hence the name), cinnamon, nutmeg, suet and a variety of fruits, baked as a large oblong pie rather than the smaller ones we know today.  During the Victorian times, people continued to eat the traditional Christmas pie, but the recipe became sweeter and reduced in size.  Today, a lot of our Christmas traditions come from the Victorians including the mince pie.  Usually made with fruit instead of minced meat it remains a popular seasonal treat.

I always go for shop-bought mincemeat but this year I decided to go all out and make my own.  In case you missed it, you can follow this recipe here. 

Here's how I made my mince pies!

Ingredients

• 500g flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 120g butter, cut into cubes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Homemade mincemeat
• Icing sugar for dusting

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (390ºF)

2. Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl.

3. Add the butter and rub into the dry ingredients until it looks like breadcrumbs.

4. Fold in one of the beaten eggs until a dough forms.

5. Knead the dough lightly by hand on a floured surface.

6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut out 18 rounds for the base and 18 star shapes for the tops.

7. Line 2 12-hole cake trays with a little bit of butter and add the rounds to the bottom of the trays.

8. Add a generous teaspoon of mincemeat into the pastry case, add a pastry star on top and brush with a little of the second beaten egg.

9. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

10. Allow to cool, dust with a little icing sugar and serve.

These were super simple to make and turned out very well.  Making them reminded me so much of being home in the U.K. at Christmas time.  Give this recipe a go and let me know in the comments if you liked them.

xoxo


What is your favourite festive treat to bake at Christmas?  What Christmas food could you not live without?  I'd love to know!  Leave a message in the comments below!