Christmas Recipes: Super easy Mince Pies │ lipsticksandlevis

Hello everyone!

Here is the second of my Christmas posts, a really easy recipe for mince pies. I love baking and even though I don't like mince pies, I thought I would have a go at making them for my family to get me into the Christmas spirit (although that doesn't take much). I know that leading up to Christmas I will be making these for my family  a lot. This was the first time that I had made mince pies and also the first time I had made pastry so after the feedback from my Mum and Dad I am really pleased with how they turned out and would recommend this recipe to anyone who is a beginner when it comes to baking.

Ingredients: 225g cold butter, diced

                      350g plain flour

                      100g golden caster sugar

                      280g mincemeat

                      1 small egg

                      a pinch of salt

                      icing sugar to dust

Method:

1. To make the pastry, rub the cold diced butter into the plain flour. Then mix in the golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt. Combine the pastry into a ball and knead it briefly. You don't need to add any liquid. Now you can either use the dough immediately or leave it in the fridge to chill for later use.

2. Preheat your oven to 200C / Gas 6 / Fan 180C. Line 18 holes of two 12-hole shallow cake tins, by pressing small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each hole. Then spoon your mince meat into the pastry lines holes. 

3. Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and flatten them out in your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies. Place the lids onto the pies, pressing the edges together gently to seal - you don't need any egg or milk to seal them as they will naturally stick. At this stage the mince pies can be frozen for up to a month or cooked straight away.

4. Beat 1 small egg and brush it over the tops of the pies. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Once they are out of the oven, leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove them and place on a wire rack to finish cooling. When serving they can be lightly dusted with icing sugar and they will keep fine in a sealed container for 3-4 days. 

Let me know if you try this recipe!

♥

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