If you find mince pies with pastry top & bottom a bit on the heavy side these are the mince pies for you, they are made using an all butter pastry case, filled with our delicious home made mincemeat topped with a light buttery crumble.
The mincemeat can be made at the last minute, as it is a cooked mincemeat, the suet melts during cooking encasing the other ingredients so does not need weeks of maturing, although it will keep in sterilized jars for up to 6 months.
If time is of the essence you can of course buy your mincemeat but this is a quick & easy recipe.
MINCEMEAT INGREDIENTS
- 225g Bramley apples, peeled, cored & chopped into small chunks
- 110g Vegetable suet
- 200g Raisins
- 125g Sultanas
- 125g Currants
- 175g Soft dark brown sugar
- Grated zest of a lemon & an orange
- Quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 2 level teaspoons mixed ground spice
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons brandy
MINCEMEAT METHOD
- Combine all the ingredients in an oven proof bowl except the Brandy, stirring thoroughly.
- Cover with a clean tea towel & leave overnight to allow the flavours to mingle.
- The next day Pre-heat the oven to 120c.
- Cover the bowl with foil & cook for 2 hours, It will look as though it is swimming in fat but once the mixture comes out the oven & cools it will encase the ingredients.
- Allow to cool, stirring occasionally.
- The mincemeat is now ready to be placed in sterilized jars or straight into your mince pies.
MINCE PIE INGREDIENTS
- 250g salted butter
- 500g plain flour
- 125g caster sugar
- A pinch of mixed spice
- A little milk
MINCE PIE METHOD
- Pre heat the oven to 175c
- In a food mixer, processor or with your hands, mix & combine all ingredients until they resemble breadcrumbs.
- Remove a third of the breadcrumbs into another bowl.
- Add a little milk at a time to the remaining breadcrumbs mixing in between until the mixture forms a dough.
- Tip out onto a floured work surface & roll out thinly.
- Using pastry cutters, cut out rounds of pastry, placing them in a cupcake tin, gently press them into the bottom & sides of the tin.
- Add a generous teaspoon of mincemeat to the centre of each pastry case.
- Top with a spoon of the crumble mix until all the mincemeat is covered. Don’t worry if the crumble mix goes everywhere & over the sides of the case, the case will lift cleanly from the cupcake tin once cooked leaving any bits behind.
- Place in the oven for approx 20 mins or until golden brown.
- Once cooked these can be eaten but equally freeze really well in a tupperware container.
