Mince Pies With Homemade Mincemeat Recipes

TRADITIONAL BRITISH MINCE PIE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the flour, butter, and salt into a large clean bowl.
• Rub the butter quickly into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles rough sand.
• Stir the egg into the mixture using a cold knife.
• Add the cold water, a teaspoon at a time, and stir until the mixture binds but is not sticky.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F / 200 C / Gas Mark 6. Choose a muffin or bun tin for the size of the tart you want. Choose from a standard 12-cup muffin tin down to small canapé size. The number of pies will depend on the size of the tin you use.
• Dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out 2/3 of the pastry to 1/8 inch thick. Cut circles to line the cups of your tin; don't worry if the pastry doesn't come to the very top.
• Fill the pastry-lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat.
• Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness and cut smaller circles to fit as lids on the tarts or, to be decorative, cut stars or other fancy shapes.
• Dampen the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole in the surface of each pie with a small sharp knife to allow the steam to escape.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes (15 minutes if making canapé-sized ones), or until golden brown.
• Let cool and sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar.
• Serve and enjoy.

CLASSIC MINCEMEAT PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Unroll pie crusts. Line ungreased 9-inch pie plate with one crust. Fill with mincemeat. Cover with second crust and seal edges. Cut slits in top crust to vent steam. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if desired.

MINCE PIES (WITH HOMEMADE MINCEMEAT)

Steps:

• For the filling, mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and let sit overnight to absorb all the liquid then spoon and pack into sterilised jars. Let it sit for at least 2 weeks (but longer is better) before using. (You can also just buy two 14oz jars of 'mincemeat' if you can find it).
• For the pastry:.
• Cream the butter and sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the egg yolks and stir them in until smooth. Add the flour and salt, stir briefly then use your hands to gently knead into a uniform dough. Divide into two balls, flatten into disks and cover with plastic wrap then chill for an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• To assemble:.
• Remove one disk of pastry from fridge and unwrap. Roll out on a piece of floured baking paper until very thin - about 1/8-inch thick. Use a circular cutter to cut out twelve 3-inch circles. Place the circles into a mini tart/tartlette pan. Spoon in a heaped teaspoonful of filling. Re-roll the scraps of dough and cut out 12 stars to place ontop of each tartlet.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbling. Remove from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Repeat the rolling, cutting and filling of the pies using the remaining pastry.
• Store in an airtight container.

UNBELIEVABLY EASY MINCE PIES

Steps:

• To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt.
• Combine the pastry into a ball - don't add liquid - and knead it briefly. The dough will be fairly firm, like shortbread dough. You can use the dough immediately, or chill for later.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 18 holes of two 12-hole patty tins, by pressing small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each hole.
• Spoon the mincemeat into the pies. Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies.
• Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal - you don't need to seal them with milk or egg as they will stick on their own. Will keep frozen for up to one month.
• Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg. Bake for 20 mins until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove to a wire rack. To serve, lightly dust with the icing sugar. Will keep for three to four days in an airtight container.

MINCEMEAT

Steps:

• Combine cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a bowl. Reserve 1 heaped teaspoon for the mincemeat. Store the rest in a small jar for a later use.
• Inspect two 12-ounce jars for cracks and rings for rust, discarding any defective ones. Immerse in simmering water until mincemeat is ready. Wash new, unused lids and rings in warm soapy water.
• Combine apple, sultanas, sugar, currants, raisins, and butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat and stir gently until butter has melted. Stir in chopped almonds, orange zest, 1 teaspoon of mixed spice, and cinnamon. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and set mincemeat aside to cool down for 30 minutes. Stir in brandy. Spoon into sterilized jars.

MINCE PIES

Steps:

• Place 375g plain flour and 260g softened unsalted butter in a bowl and rub together to a crumb consistency.
• Add 125g caster sugar and 1 large beaten egg, and mix together.
• Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and fold until the pastry comes together, be careful not to over mix.
• Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for 10 mins.
• Scoop the large jar of mincemeat into a bowl and add 2 segmented satsumas, 1 finely chopped apple and zest of 1 lemon.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
• Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick.
• Using a round cutter (about 10cm), cut out 16 bases and place them into muffin trays. Put 1½ tbsp mincemeat mixture into each. Brush the edge of each pie with a little beaten egg.
• Re-roll out the pastry to cut 7cm lids and press them on top to seal. Glaze with the beaten egg, sprinkle with the extra caster sugar, then make a small cut in the tops.
• Bake the mince pies for 15-20 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool before releasing them from the muffin trays and dusting with a little more icing sugar before serving.