MINCE PIES | BLOGMAS DAY 2

Hey everyone and happy 2nd of December,

I wanted to give you my recipe on how to make mince pies. Now if I was really good I would tell you how to make the mincemeat but firstly I don't have a recipe for mincemeat, secondly I've never tried to make mincemeat and thirdly does anyone have time to make it and it costs so much money when you can buy a jar for a few pounds. But I am going to show you how to make the pastry and I do also add a couple more ingredients to the mincemeat just to add a bit more flavour.

Mince pies have never really been my favourite Christmas food but I love to make them. However I decided to finally try one last year and I really like them and I now get a bit obsessed over mince pies and I will make over 100 over Christmas and I usually make around 100 for my Dad to take into work and another 50 for my Mum to take into work. So I make a lot basically and they don't last long in my house. This is such a simple recipe and it is particularly good if maybe you're not into baking or if you're not the best baker in the world but you still want to make something that is homemade and it is great to make if you have children or grandchildren because they will love rolling out the pastry and filling the pies with the mincemeat as well.

Makes: 18 (approximately) | Prep Time: 20 minutes plus chilling time | Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

You will need ...

375g plain flour

250g cold unsalted butter

125g caster sugar

4 tbsp cold water

1 egg (plus another egg to brush on top of the mince pies)

1 jar of mincemeat

1 orange

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing Sugar (for decoration)

Method ...

First you will want to preheat the over to 175c.

Then you want to sieve the flour into a bowl. Then add the cold butter to the flour and rub together with your hands until you get the same consistency of breadcrumbs or like a crumble topping. Stir in the sugar and the egg until combined. Add the water, a tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms a ball (you might not need all 4 tablespoons). Once the mixture has been made into a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and allow to chill in the fridge for approximately 10-15 minutes.

On a clean surface, sprinkle some flour onto the surface and onto your rolling pin. Once the dough is chilled roll the dough out until it is roughly 2-3mm thick. Then with a round cutter, cut out your circles to fill your muffin tin. In a separate bowl, empty the jar of mincemeat and add the zest of 1 orange and add the 2tsp of ground cinnamon (the orange and extra cinnamon is optional) and stir until fully combined. Once you have done this, you will then want to add a teaspoon of the mincemeat mixture to each mince pie. When this has been done you will then want to cut out the rest of the pastry for the lids, you can either use the same round cutter you used before or you could cut them out with a star cutter (like I have) so you can see the mincemeat underneath and it just makes it look so pretty. Obviously if you don't have a star cutter then cutting them out of circles is fine as well. You then want to beat an egg and if you are cutting your lids with a circle cutter then just brush the beaten egg around the edges before placing the lids on top. Then brush the egg on top of each mince pie.

Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Once they have cooled down slightly on a wire rack, the sprinkle with icing sugar to make it look even more festive. These are perfect served warm or cold and will be great with a glass of cold milk.

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