Here’s my recipe for the best ever mince pies, if you like a proper traditional shortcrust then you’ll hopefully love these as much as I do!
[Makes 12 depending on the size of your baking tray]
Ingredients
- 100g plain flour
- 100g self raising flour
- 80g unsalted butter
- Water
- Mincemeat (as fancy as you like, I think the cheap stuff is just fine)
- Milk
- Icing Sugar (optional for dusting)
Method
Cut the butter into small (1cm) cubes
Add the flour and butter into a food processor on a medium setting and blend together into breadcrumbs.
Add water to the mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix with a spoon until a dough starts to form. Be careful not to add too much or it will be very sticky and hard to roll out, you only need a few tablespoons.
Flour the work surface and roll out the dough until it is just a few millimetres thick. It will rise a little when baking.
Grease your baking tray with very small amount of oil or butter. I use a ‘fry light’ cooking spray for convenience.
Cut out pastry bases into rounds to fit your baking tray.
Press each round into the tray and add a desert spoon of mincemeat.
Combine up the remaining pastry and roll out again.
Cut out the tops to match your baking tray – use the crinkly side this time.
Use a straw to make a round hole in the center and add the top to each pie in the tray. If you don’t have a straw, cut a small slit in the top after it’s been put on.
Brush the tops with a small amount of milk to help it brown in the oven.
Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes or until starting to turn golden.
Once baked and cooled, dust the tops with a small amount of icing sugar for extra Christmassy-ness.
Try not to eat them all at once!
MrStevenHill 