It’s December, which means only one thing – its time to start making fruit mince pies! Although there are a lot of good supermarket options available, nothing beats a homemade fruit mince pie at this time of year, which is why I couldn’t resist sharing my favourite recipe. The pastry is light, with a shortbread biscuit texture and melts in the mouth.
I have adapted this easy to follow recipe from BBC Good Food. You can make these fruit mince pies for Christmas day or as a centerpiece for a festive party with friends and family.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes / Cooking Time: 20 minutes / Makes 12 pies
Ingredients
Pastry
- 225g cold butter, diced
- 350g plain flour
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 small egg
- pinch of salt
Filling
- 280g sweet mincemeat
- grated ginger (to taste)
- finely chopped apple (to taste)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced.
- Combine all pastry ingredients (do not add any liquid).
- Use your hands to create balls and kneed lightly.
- Press the mixture into tins (leave enough for the lids).
- Spoon the mincemeat, combined with the ginger and apple, into each pie.
- Make round lids to place on top of the pies and lightly press down the edges to seal them.
- Beat the egg and brush the top of each pie.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the pies turn a golden colour.
- Leave in the tin for 5 minutes to cool before placing on a wire rack and dusting with icing sugar.
Notes
The pastry here is a crumbly one, and will fall apart if you attempt to roll it out. Simply press it into the tins as described – it doesn’t look pretty when raw, but comes good when it’s cooked.