Nana Barbara's Mince Pies

Welcome back! I know it's been a while, uni has literally been insane, but I'm so happy to be back on here and doing what I love. I'm loving having some time off, and it's (finally) Christmas, my favourite time of the year. After the year we've all had, it's a well deserved time to relax while reading a book and eat ourselves silly, so I'll have lots to talk about. I'll be here, sharing my favourite Christmas recipes and reads, and to kick it all off, the ultimate Christmas treat, mince pies...

This recipe isn't mine but my Nana Barbara's. Her mince pies were famous for their crumbly pastry and general deliciousness. We used to have a baking day every Christmas and give our treats out as presents. I'm so glad I have this recipe and am able to make some mince pies in her memory. I know my dad is for sure.

Before we start, I just want to talk a bit about the pastry. It is VERY crumbly and I'm sometimes surprised if I can get all 12 out of the tray without some falling apart. I've got a trick that might help, but honestly you just need to be a little patient and use a light touch. The light and buttery taste is worth it.

Ingredients:

8 oz Plain Flour

5 oz Unsalted Butter

1 Tablespoon of Icing Sugar (Plus Extra for Dusting)

1 Egg Yolk

2 Tablespoons of Butter

Jar of Mincemeat (About 420g)

1 Tablespoon Milk

-Makes 12

Equipment:

Weighing Scales

Large Bowl

Sieve

Rolling Pin

1 Large, Round Cookie Cutter (or Large Glass)

1 Small, Round Cookie Cuter (or Small Glass)

Cling Film

1 Muffin Tray or Shallow Muffin Tray

Fork

Pastry Brush

Breadboard

My Method:

1. Measure the flour, unsalted butter and icing sugar into a bowl. Use your fingers to make the mixture into breadcrumbs.

2. Separate and egg.

3. Make a well in the centre of the breadcrumb mixture then put the egg yolk in the centre. Use your hands to combine the mixture into a ball of pastry. Try to handle the mixture as little as possible.

4. Wrap your pastry in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 180℃.

6. Grease the insides of your muffin tray with butter, you should need no more than 2 tbs. You should choose if you would like to use a muffin tray or a shallow muffin tray. By using the muffin tray, your mince pies will be deeper but this uses more pastry, perhaps only making 11 pies instead of 12. You can see the results of using a muffin tray from my picture below.

7. When the 20 minutes are up, roll out your pastry into 1/2 cm thickness between two sheets of cling film. This stops the pastry from sticking to the work surface or the rolling pin.

8. Leave the pastry between the cling film and take your large cookie cutter. If you do not have one, then you can use a glass with a round rim instead. The size of the cutter or glass should be larger than the wells in the muffin tray to allow the pastry to go up the sides. This is about 1cm larger in radius. Cut the pastry while it is still in-between the cling film for ease, then remove and place the round pastry pieces in the tray wells, smoothing them out once inside. Re-roll the pastry as many times as needed in order to get 11 or 12 large pastry circles.

9. Add a teaspoon of mincemeat into your pies if you are using the shallow tray or about 1 1/2 -2 teaspoons if you are using the larger muffin tray.

10. Roll out the leftover pastry, again between cling film, and use the small cookie cutter to cut the tops of the pies. The size of the cutter should be about the same size as the top of the muffin wells. You can also use a glass as an alternative.

11. Place the tops onto the pies and use a fork to press down the edges, sealing the pies.

12. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the tops of the pies with milk.

13. Place in the oven for 20 minutes and allow to cool once ready.

14. Tricky part! Getting the pies out of the tray can be hard, they sometimes crumble to pieces before your very eyes. Good thing that my mum came up with the idea of placing a breadboard on top of the tray with the mince pies in and flipping the whole thing upside down. Gently tap on the bottom of the tray until all of the pies fall out onto the breadboard.

15. Place your mince pies onto a plate and lightly dust with icing sugar to serve.

This classic recipe is ideal to help you relax this Christmas. Pop on a Christmas film while you're baking and you have the perfect therapy. Whatever you're doing, have a lovely Christmas and stay safe.

Overall:

Easy to Make - Easy as pie

Time Taken - 90 minutes

Taste - Light, buttery and like Christmas!

See my totally unfiltered, candid pictures below (and my Christmas tree) and enjoy!