Would Christmas really be Christmas without a few mince pies? Personally, I’m not the biggest fan but I absolutely love the smell that they create in the kitchen. The spices and fruit in the filling. The delicious pastry baking. There’s something very special about these little goodies.

These mince pies are made using a jar of shop bought mincemeat, to which I add many additions for lots of flavour. If I’m making my own mincemeat from scratch, I love this recipe for Cinnamon Spiced Mincement by Nourishing Amy. The pastry is an adaption of a Rachel Allen recipe for fruit tart.

Hope you enjoy!

Amy x

Ingredients

For the pastry
150g cold margarine, cubed
250g flour, plus extra for dusting
50g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten with a dash of milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar mixed with 1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the filling
1 jar of mince meat
1 chopped apple 🍎
Zest of 1 lemon 🍋
1 tbsp of limoncello 🍹

Method
In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the filling and set aside. If you have time, do this a day or two in advance to let the flavours mingle.

To make the pastry, place the margarine and flour in a large bowl and rub together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar.

Add in half of the egg/milk mixture and begin to pull together to form a dough using clean hands. If the mix is too dry add a little more liquid. Allow the dough to sit in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Dust a clean work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Knead lightly and roll out to approx. 1/4-inch. Using two circular cutters (1 slightly smaller than the other) cut out 12 bottoms (bigger circle) and 12 tops (smaller circle).

Line a muffin tin with the bigger circles and place a spoonful of filling into each case. Brush some of the remaining milk/egg mixture around the edges and place the lids on.

Brush the remaining egg wash over each lid, sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar and make some air holes in the pies.

Bake in the preheated oven for approx. 25 mins. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completed before storing in a tin or freezing. Frozen mince pies are best served after reheating in the oven for 10-15 minutes to crisp up the pastry.