10
Dec
Mince Pies
By Rachel Davies
With December well under way, it’s time to get started on the Christmas cooking. Nothing beats a home-made mince pie, fresh from the oven, so here is my favourite.
Buy the best mincemeat you can find. I do believe in shortcuts, and while it’s hard to improve on hand-made, rich buttery pastry, I don’t tend to make my own mincemeat.
Enjoy these warm with plenty of tea or mulled wine, and wishing you a great festive period and a very happy new year!
Rachel
(Almost totally) Home-made Mince Pies
Makes around 20
Ingredients
250g plain flour
200g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and at room temperature
100g icing sugar, sifter
pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
2 jars of the best mincemeat you can get (or try making your own using this recipe)
Method
- For the pastry, blend the flour, butter, sugar and salt together in a food processor until the butter is the consistency of sand. Add the egg yolks and pulse until the mixture comes together. Tip onto a work surface wrap in clingfilm and store in the fridge for minimum 20 minutes, and at most for a week.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Knead the pastry a few times, and roll on a well-floured work surface to 3mm thickness. Cut circles slightly wider than a muffin tin hole, and ease each one gently into the tin. Cut star shapes with the remaining pastry.
- Fill each pastry case with a spoon of mincemeat, place a star on top and press the edges gently to attach to the pastry case.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry is light golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar and return to the oven to glaze for 1 minute, or simply dust with icing sugar.
- Leave to cool slightly on a wire rack, and serve warm with a cup of tea or some mulled wine.
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