Traditional Mince Pies
Traditional Mince Pies, made at home from scratch, can’t be beaten by any found in the shops. Light, buttery and melt-in-the-mouth shortcrust pastry filled with a luscious mincemeat that’s unbelievably easy too.
But even if you’ve left it too late to make the mincemeat this year, using a good quality jar plus my simple, delicious all-butter pastry is still so worth it! Because a British Christmas just isn’t the same without Traditional Mince Pies.
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This is an updated version of a post from 2017
FALL IN LOVE AGAIN WITH TRADITIONAL MINCE PIES
In my experience, shop-bought mince pies don’t come close to those you can make yourself. And that applies whether they’re labelled The Best, The Finest, Luxury or any other fancy name to get you to pay a premium.
Sadly, the great British Christmas mince pie is all too often disrespected and unloved. Often made with poor quality ingredients plus environmentally disastrous (and yukky) palm oil, is it any wonder that 13,000 wheelie bins full are thrown away each year?
But I think it’s time that Britain fell in love again with proper, homemade Traditional Mince Pies. They honestly aren’t difficult to make, even for beginners.
EASY TRADITIONAL MINCE PIES
You’ll find ingredient amounts and full instructions for making 12 deep-filled Traditional Mince Pies in the recipe card at the end. But I recommend you read the rest of this post before starting.
THE MINCEMEAT
Ideally, for the very best mince pies from scratch, you’ll have some Homemade Christmas Mincemeat in the cupboard. If you’re reading this post at least 2-3 weeks before Christmas, then you just about have time to make some and let it mature.
It really is dead easy, so do look at the recipe. All you do is stir up your choice of dried fruit, nuts, spices, (I include traditional suet in mine too), optional booze etc. then leave overnight to soak. In the morning, just pop it in a low oven for a couple of hours and it’s ready to pot up.
But if you’ve left it too late, find the very best quality mincemeat you can by reading the label. Personally, I’d avoid palm oil, cheap fillers like apple pulp, and ingredients that are indicators of ultra processed foods such as glucose-fructose syrup. Making your mince pies with a good bought mincemeat and making your own all-butter shortcrust pastry will still be better than buying mince pies.
But do put a reminder in your calendar for next October or November to start a batch of homemade mincemeat!
HOMEMADE SWEET, BUTTERY SHORTCRUST PASTRY
I think it’s a shame that so many people believe that shortcrust pastry is too complicated and time-consuming to make at home. Because it really is simple and quick to make, even if you do it by hand rather than in a food processor. In the recipe card at the end, I give instructions for both methods.
While you can sometimes find all-butter shop-bought pastry, it will cost you a lot more than making your own. And don’t bother buying shortcrust pastry that doesn’t mention butter on the packet. You’ll most likely just be paying for margarine made with palm oil.
Most standard shortcrust pastry has half the weight of butter to flour. However, I make the pastry for my Traditional Mince Pies extra buttery. As well as tasting wonderful, the pastry is really easy to work with. You don’t even need to chill it before rolling out.
HOW TO MAKE TRADITIONAL MINCE PIES
I like to work with half the pastry at a time, covering the rest so it doesn’t dry out. To prevent sticking, keep your work top and rolling pin floured, but use as little as you can. Roll out the pastry thinly, roughly 2 mm, and stamp out 12 circles for the bases and 12 smaller ones for the tops. The diameter of the circles you need will depend on the depth of your muffin/bun tin.
I sometimes make a few mince pies with a star on top instead of a full pastry lid. In that case, you’ll get a few more pies out of the same amount of pastry – providing you have enough mincemeat of course. You can also use a fluted round cutter if you prefer.
After placing the bases in the tin, spoon mincemeat into each one so it comes just below the rim of the pastry. Wet your finger with water and rub it around the pastry edge then pop on the lids and press all the way around to seal.
If you want to bake the pies later then just put in the fridge. Otherwise, brush beaten egg over each one and finish with a sprinkle of sugar.
BAKING & STORING TRADITIONAL MINCE PIES
In my fan oven preheated to the temperature shown in the recipe card, these Traditional Mince Pies take around 18 minutes to bake. However, appliances do vary, so allow anything from 12 to 20 minutes.
When they’re done, take the baking tray from the oven but DON’T try to remove them from the tin yet. Tempting as the lovely smell of hot, sweet pastry, spices and fruit is, you need to cool a little to allow the pastry to firm up. Set aside for 5 – 10 minutes then carefully loosen with a round bladed knife. You may find the pies easier to lift out if you first gently rotate them.
Once they’re on the cooling rack, it’s perfectly acceptable to eat one immediately (cook’s prerogative). To serve properly, dust with icing sugar.
I make several batches of mince pies each year and freeze almost all of them. This means they’re always fresh and ready for a quick treat over Christmas with zero waste. They take less than a minute to defrost and heat in the microwave. Alternatively, defrost then warm in a moderate oven or air fryer.
While I love them as a sweet snack with a glass of port, whisky, or brandy, hot Traditional Mince Pies make a knockout dessert too. Serve them with double or clotted cream and you’ll see what I mean!
Try making your own mincemeat, sweet shortcrust pastry and mince pies, and I’m willing to bet you’ll never go back to shop-bought.
If you’ve made my Traditional Mince Pies, please do let me know what you thought by leaving a comment and rating.
Traditional Mince Pies
Traditional Mince Pies, made at home from scratch with rich, all-butter pastry and quality mincemeat, will beat any you can find in the shops.
It's recommended that you read the accompanying blog post before starting the recipe.
Ingredients
- 350 g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 1 pinch salt
- 225 g cold butter (diced)
- 100 g caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
- 2-4 tbsp iced water
- 1 standard jar quality mincemeat (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 beaten egg (for glaze)
- icing sugar (to serve)
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 180°C /160°C Fan /Gas 4 /350°F with a shelf in the middle position.
Make the sweet shortcrust pastry
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Using a food processor
Put the flour, salt, and butter into the food processor and whizz until the mixture looks like very fine breadcrumbs.
With the motor still running, add iced water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the mixture starts coming together.
Making by hand
Stir the flour and salt together in a bowl. Rub in the butter so the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add 2 tbsp of cold water and stir it in with a round bladed knife. Continue adding tablespoons of water and stirring until the mixture starts coming together.
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Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth ball.
Tip: pastry can be wrapped and chilled at this point, but it isn't necessary.
Make and bake the Traditional Mince Pies
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Working with half of the pastry at a time (keep the remainder covered), lightly flour your work surface roll out thinly (approx. 2mm) and stamp out 12 circles to fit the bases and sides of a deep 12-hole muffin/bun tin plus 12 smaller circles for the lids. You will need to gather the scraps and re-roll to make all 24 circles.
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Place the bases in the holes of the muffin/bun tin and spoon mincemeat in each one to a level just below the pastry rim.
Wet your finger with water and moisten the edges of the pastry cases then put on the lids, pressing down all around to seal.
Pies can be chilled or frozen at this stage if liked.
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Brush the tops with beaten egg and sprinkle over a little sugar.
Prick two holes in each top with a skewer or cocktail stick to allow steam to escape.
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Transfer to the preheated oven and bake until the pastry is cooked and browned (approx. 12-20 minutes).
Remove the tin from the oven and set aside for 5 - 10 minutes to allow the pastry to firm up.
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Carefully remove the mince pies from the tin: use a round ended knife to loosen if necessary, rotating the pie then lifting onto a cooling rack.
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Dust with icing sugar to serve.
Cool completely before storing for 3-4 days or freezing.
Reheat for a few seconds in a microwave or a few minutes in a low oven or air fryer. Add extra time if heating from frozen or defrost thoroughly first.
Recipe Notes
Mincemeat is surprisingly easy to make at home: Homemade Christmas Mincemeat recipe However, it does need a minimum of 2 - 3 weeks maturing. If using shop bought, get the best quality you can. Check the label and avoid those with palm oil, cheap fillers like apple pulp, or ingredients such as glucose-fructose which indicate an ultra-processed product.
Tip: If your mincemeat is quite firm, heat the jar (with the lid off) in the microwave for a few seconds. This will melt the suet and make it easier to spoon into the pastry cases. Can also be done in a low oven for a few minutes
MORE RECIPES FOR CHRISTMAS HERE
