Cinnamon Swirl Mince Pies Recipes

PUFF PASTRY CINNAMON SWIRLS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to gas mark 4/180°C/350°F
• In a mixing bowl, mix the butter, light brown sugar and cinnamon together with a spoon until combined.
• Unroll the ready-made puff pastry and spread the cinnamon, butter and light brown sugar mixture evenly over all the pastry leaving a small 1cm gap around the surface. Roll your pastry like a swiss roll.
• With a sharp knife or a piece of string, cut the pastry approximately 2cm long.
• Place them on the baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Leave space in-between each cinnamon swirl as they do expand in the oven whilst baking.
• In a small bowl, mix the icing sugar and water together until well combined. Using a spoon or a piping bag, drizzle the icing over each homemade cinnamon swirl in a diagonal motion from top to bottom.

MINCE PIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., For filling, in a large skillet or Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, 3-5 minutes, breaking into crumbles; drain. Add apples, apricot, brown sugar, raisins, apple juice, vinegar, orange zest and seasonings. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until apples are tender, 15-17 minutes. Stir in rum. Remove from heat; cool slightly., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut 20 circles with a floured 2-3/4-in. round biscuit cutter. Top half the circles with 1 tablespoon filling. Top with remaining circles; press edges with a fork to seal. Cut slits in top. Brush tops with egg; sprinkle with coarse sugar. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

CINNAMON-SWIRL APPLE SLAB PIE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured piece of parchment, roll one disk of dough into a 12-by-17-inch rectangle. Transfer crust to a 10 1/2-by-15 1/4-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly-roll pan and press into bottom edges and up sides. Fold overhang under and around edge. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine room-temperature butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. On a lightly floured piece of parchment, roll second disk of dough into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Evenly spread butter mixture over dough all the way to ends, then, starting at a long edge, tightly roll into a log. Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees with a rack in lower third and a foil-lined baking sheet on a rack below. In a large bowl, toss together apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and vanilla. Fill piecrust with apple mixture and dot with cold butter.
• Cut dough log into 1/4-inch slices, rotating with each slice to keep slices round. (You'll need 63 slices total.) Arrange slices over apple mixture, slightly overlapping, in nine rows of seven. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Brush top of pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until top crust is just set, 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Slab pie tastes best the day it's made.

MINCE PIES

Steps:

• Mince pies freeze very well, taking some of the headache out of all that Christmas preparation. If I make lots of these before Christmas, I freeze them raw and then cook them on the day. Cooked mince pies can be stored in a biscuit tin or airtight box and warmed through gently before serving. They are perfect with a glass of spicy mulled wine or a cup of coffee for a festive snack.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C/Gas mark 6. Brush the tin with melted butter.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to 1/8-inch/3 mm thick and, using the 2 1/2-inches/6 cm cutter, cut out 24 circles for the bases. Then use the smaller plain/fluted cutter or star cutter to cut-out 24 circles/stars for the lids. Re-roll the trimmings, if necessary.
• Line the holes of the cake tin with the larger pastry rounds. Fill each base with a teaspoon mincemeat and top with one of the smaller rounds or stars. Brush the tops of the mince pies with the beaten egg.
• Bake in the oven for 10 to 13 minutes until pale golden. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar (confectioners') to serve.
• This basic pastry is used in many popular recipes, from mince pies to quiches; it's also one of the easiest pastries to start with. The uncooked dough can be frozen or kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
• Shortcrust Pastry:
• Put the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and whiz briefly. Add half the beaten egg and continue to whiz. You might add a little more egg, but not too much as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together. If making by hand, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs then, using your hands, add just enough egg to bring it together. With your hands, flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 3/4-inch/2 cm thick, then wrap in cling film or place in a plastic bag and leave in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or, if you are pushed for time, in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Variations: Sweet Shortcrust Pastry: In place of the pinch of salt, use 1 tablespoon icing sugar (confectioners'). Soured cream shortcrust pastry: Replace the egg with 2 tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche, adding just enough to bring it together.
• This delicious mincemeat will keep happily in a cool dark place for at least a year. If you are making your own suet (the fat that surrounds the beef kidney), make sure that every trace of blood has been removed before you whiz it in the food processor, otherwise it will cause the mincemeat to go off.
• Mincemeat:
• Put the apple chunks in a small saucepan with 1 teaspoon water, cover and cook over low heat for about 8 to 10 minutes until the apples are cooked down to a pulp. Allow to cool.
• Mix the apples with the orange zest, orange juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, suet, raisins, sultanas, currants, candied peel, dark brown sugar, almonds, mixed spice, and whiskey in a large bowl and put into sterilized jars.* Leave to mature, if possible for at least 2 weeks before using.
• Cut the fruit in 1/2 and squeeze out the juice. (Reserve the juice for another use, perhaps home-made lemonade.) Put the peel into a large bowl, add the salt and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 24 hours.
• Next day, throw away the soaking water; put the peel in a large saucepan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for about 3 hours or until the peel is soft.
• Remove the peel from the pan and discard the water. Scrape out any remaining flesh and membrane from inside the cut fruit, using a teaspoon, leaving the white pith and rind intact.
• In a clean large saucepan, dissolve the sugar in 1 3/4 pints/1 litre of water, then bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the peel and simmer gently for 30 to 60 minutes until it looks translucent (shiny and 'candied') and the syrup forms a thread when the last drop falls off a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and allow to stand for 20 to 30 minutes to slightly cool.
• Put the candied peel into sterilized glass jars* and pour the syrup over. Cover and store in a cold place or in the refrigerator. It should keep, stored like this, for at least 3 months.

CINNAMON SWIRL APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Refrigerate icing from cinnamon rolls. Separate cinnamon rolls; press onto bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Bake 7-9 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven setting to 350°., For filling, in a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to apple mixture; toss to coat. Pour filling into prepared crust., For topping, in a small bowl, mix cracker crumbs, brown sugar and flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake 40-45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Cover top loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes if needed to prevent overbrowning. Remove foil. Cool on a wire rack., Just before serving, place reserved icing in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave, uncovered, 10 seconds or until softened. Drizzle over pie.

MINCE PIES

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients for the mincemeat in a bowl and add brandy or rum to cover the fruit. Stir well, then let it rest overnight. The next day, stir again and then divide among sterilized preserving jars.
• To make the pastry, mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the mixture until it is the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and egg yolk and knead until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough. Alternatively, use a food processor to make the pastry. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
• Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease the tart molds with butter and cover the base of each with a small circle of parchment paper. Dust with flour.
• Briefly knead the pastry until smooth, then pat it into a rectangle and roll it out to a thickness of ⅛ inch. Use a round cutter with a diameter of 2¾ - 3¼ inches to cut out pastry circles. Gently push the pastry rounds into the tart molds. Prick the base or each tart shell three times with a fork.
• Knead the remaining dough back together and roll it out to cut out the lids-you can choose whichever shape you like, but stars are the most traditional.
• Divide the 8 ounces of filling among the tarts and press down gently. Place the lids on top and brush with the egg wash.
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm or cold.