Pastry for mince pies can be a little heavy and sweet, overpowering the flavour of the mincemeat. Over the years, our foolproof shortbread recipe has tempted the most ardent of mince pie critics.
The recipe makes twelve mince pies, a small batch, so use the tool on the recipe card to double or triple the recipe. Don’t overfill your pies; a scant tablespoon of mincemeat is perfect. I also prefer not to enclose the pies with lids completely. Choose a star cutter which neatly tops the mincemeat. The pastry shouldn’t be too thin (about 3-4mm), or they will crumble, which is annoying as they are often eaten standing up.😃
Mincemeat – homemade or spiced up ready-made
You can spice up a jar of ready-made mincemeat with orange zest, chopped tangerine or apple or try our fruity mincemeat recipe, which is zesty, fruity, and not too sweet. You will need about 400-450g to fill a batch of twelve. If you have time, you can also add handmade candied peel.
Pastry Tips
To make the pastry, work lightly – mix the sugar and flour with a pinch of salt, and rub in the butter until you have breadcrumbs. You can add a pinch of vanilla, lemon, or orange zest. Pull the mixture together to form a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for half an hour. It is, in essence, shortbread 😉, so you will need it cold to roll out – gorgeously buttery but a little tricky. Bake in a preheated oven at 190 for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them.
The shortbread doesn’t need an egg glaze; dust the mince pies🎄 with plenty of golden caster sugar as soon as you take them out of the oven. Leave them to cool completely before removing them from the tin. You can also dust with more icing sugar when cool.
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Mince Pies 🎄
Ingredients
- 225 g butter
- 350 g plain flour
- 100 g soft golden caster sugar plus extra for dusting
- 450 g mincemeat
- icing sugar to decorate
- ½ tsp orange or lemon zest or ½ tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Lightly grease a bun tin
- Mix the sugar and flour with a generous pinch of salt, and rub in the butter until you have breadcrumbs. You can add a pinch of vanilla or a little orange or lemon zest. Pull the mixture together to form a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for half an hour.
- It is, in essence, shortbread 😉, so you will need it cold to roll out – gorgeously buttery but a little tricky. Roll out and cut 12 circles. Top either with smaller circles or stars.
- Bake in a preheated oven on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them.
- Dust with golden caster sugar as soon as you take them out of the oven, but wait until completely cool before removing them from the bun tin.
- Serve with brandy butter, ice cream, brandy sauce or cream. They are delicious served warm, but you can also eat them cold.
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