I have always wanted to bake my own Christmas Mince Pies and I’ve just never got to do it. This year I’ve finally found the recipe and I’ve been excited to get my hands dirty.
To be honest they were a little more difficult than I expected, but only because I had some doubts about the pastry. It wasn’t um… cooperating, but once they had baked they turned out perfectly. Phew.
And… If I say so myself, they’re better than any store bought mince pies. *blush*
1.) Sift the flour and then rub in the diced butter. You can use a blender, but I got a great arm workout from doing it by hand.
2.) Then mix in the Castor Sugar with a pinch of salt … Knead it (no liquid is needed – it’s like shortbread pastry) and get all the crumbs together.
3.) Preheat the oven to 180C.
4.) Press small amounts of dough into the patty tin lining the bottoms.
6.) Take small balls of pastry into your hand and smooth them out to make lids. As the dough is quite crumbly, you may need to do this a few times. Don’t worry about them looking untidy – as long as they cover the fruit mince and go to the end of the pie they will still turn out beautifully.
7.) Use a pastry brush and lightly brush some beaten egg over the tops of the pies.
8.) Bake in the over for 15-20 minutes until they look golden.
9.) Remove them, allow them to cool down and then lightly dust them with icing sugar.
10.) Enjoy cold or slightly warmed with a glass of milk or a good cup of Vanilla Tea.
Merry Christmas.
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