Three Mince Pies (& a surprise filling)
Free to read: a mince pie for every situation: classic, cheats and a curveball special to confuse and delight.
The recipes this week are free, as are the printer-friendly PDFs. Happy Christmas!
Mince pie season is here.
And it can’t come too soon in my book. Because I love mince pies. But only homemade ones. There’s no sense in buying them. Shop-bought mince pies are always a disappointment. The pastry is too soft, the filling too syrupy and whole experience one bland mouthful of textureless sweetness. Plus, they really aren’t troublesome to make. Even mincemeat is dead easy.
So this week, I’ve got three (count them, THREE) mince pie recipes for you.
And they have been tested live on air. Last week I took my mince pies to Magic FM radio station to share with the drivetime team (one of whom had confessed that she didn’t like mince pies, so I was brought in to convert her). You can hear how I got on by listening to the replay here. The mince pie business starts from 25:30. (SPOILER: I totally converted her. Of course I did.)
So, three mince pies, each for a different occasion: a classic, a cheat and a special surprise something for when you want to break some rules.
Classic Mince Pies
The pastry recipe (which is based on an Ottolenghi recipe that is utterly bulletproof) makes a big batch, more than you are likely to need in one sitting. So use what you need, then freeze the rest. It rerolls without much grumbling too and is sweet but not unmanageably short. Use whichever mincemeat recipe you like, or shop bought is fine. I use my Mum’s Secret Recipe, which is secret even from me. I just get given a jar if I’ve been a very, very good girl.
Makes 12
330g plain flour
100g icing sugar
180g cold, cubed salted butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp cold water
1 370g jar mincemeat
Splash of milk
Start with the pastry. Mix the flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor until sandy. (Yes, a food processor goes against all don’t-over-work-pastry rules I’ve ever been told too, but it works.) Add the egg yolk and water and whizz until just combined. Shape into two discs, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan.
On a well-floured surface, roll out the pastry to 3mm thickness. Cut 12 rounds for the bases and 12 stars for the lids. Line the divots of a 12-hole muffin tin with the rounds.
Spoon a heaped tablespoon of mincemeat into each tart (the temptation to overfill is strong, but if you do overfill the sugar with bubble over and stick to the tin making extraction impossible.)
Dip the points of each star in a little milk then lay them on top of mincemeat, sticking the points to the pastry base. Brush the stars lightly with more milk and bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then use a knife to fish them out of the tin. Cool and serve. With sherry.
Cheats Mince Pies
More mince spring rolls than pies really, but they take less time to make than it does to open a shop-bought packet and warm them in the microwave. Filo makes a great speedy pastry option for mince pies - the crunch is an excellent contrast to the sticky filling.
Makes 12
1 packet filo pastry
500g jar shop-bought mincemeat
50g butter, melted
A few flaked almonds or poppy seeds if you have them
Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan.
Lay a sheet of filo so the short end is facing you (ie: it’s in portrait). Run a knife down the middle from top to bottom to create two long strips of pastry. Spoon a generous tablespoon of mincemeat onto the end nearest you, shaping it into a fat line almost the width of the pastry. Roll up the filo from the filling end upwards, tucking in the edges as you go to envelop the mincemeat in its filo casing like a fat cigar or spring roll. Don’t roll too tight of the parcels will split when cooked. Repeat until all the pastry and mincemeat is used up.
Arrange the rolls on a lined baking tray and brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle with almonds and poppy seeds then bake for 25 minutes until golden.
Veg-Filled Mince Pies
My surprise filling! Or not that surprising since it features vegetables. Which won’t come as a huge shock to those that know me. And it’s not that odd really. I’ve just taken the sorts of veg you might find in other sweet dishes and added them to the mincemeat to make, what I think is, a light, juicy mincemeat full of fragrance and interest. Because of the fresh vegetables, it needs to be stored in the fridge, for up to a week, or in the freezer for as long as you like. The crumble topping also keeps things lighter than traditional mince pies and adds texture too.
It’s the same sweet pastry recipe as the Classic Mince Pie, so make a big batch and try both.
Makes 12, with extra mincemeat and pastry
For the pastry:
330g plain flour
100g icing sugar
180g cold, cubed salted butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp cold water
For the mincemeat
150g light muscovado sugar
75g butter
1 orange, juice and zest
150g sultanas
150g raisins
150g vegetable suet
50g dried cranberries
75g candied peel
3 chunks stem ginger, finely diced, plus 2 tbsp syrup
25g flaked almonds
35g chopped hazelnuts
150g carrot, grated
100g parsnips, grated
150g Bramley apple, skin on, grated
100g pumpkin, grated
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
½ nutmeg, grated
75ml brandy
For the crumble topping
25g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp ground almonds
2 tbsp porridge oats
1 tbsp demerara sugar
½ tsp ground ginger
Start with the pastry. Mix the flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor until sandy. (Yes, a food processor goes against all don’t-over-work-pastry rules I’ve ever been told too, but it works.) Add the egg yolk and water and whizz until just combined. Shape into two discs, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
For the mincemeat, stir the sugar, butter and orange juice and zest together in a big saucepan over a low heat until melted together.
Add all of the rest of the ingredients,, except the brandy. Bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes then remove from the heat and stir through the brandy. Set aside to cool.
For the crumble topping, melt the butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add all the other ingredients and toast for 3-5 minutes until pale gold, giving it a stir regularly so it doesn’t catch.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan.
To assemble the pies, roll out half of the pastry on a well-floured surface to 3mm thickness. Cut 12 rounds and use them to line the divots of a 12-hole muffin tin.
Spoon a heaped tablespoon of mincemeat into each tart. Sprinkle a teaspoon of crumble on top and flatten it out to cover the filling. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then use a knife to fish them out of the tin. Cool and serve. With sherry. And brandy butter. Double whammy.
Thanks - these all sound brilliant! And as it happens I bought two packets of spring roll wrappers yesterday so I feel mincemeat spring rolls coming on (as well as finally making my own samosas)
I love your opening salvo about shop-bought’s inferiority. I restacked that quote. Thanks for sharing these recipes and for converting people to homemade baking!