At Christmas it is all about the home baking. Once the presents are all wrapped it is time to think about Christmas treats to enjoy over the festive period. These puff pastry mince pies are so easy to put together using ready prepared puff pastry and a jar of mincemeat, pimped up with added fruit and booze!
Let’s face it none of us have hours of time free at Christmas so these mince pies use a few shortcuts rather than using homemade puff pastry and mincemeat. But if you have already prepared jars of mincemeat and have time to make your own puff pastry then you could use those instead.
I like to buy the standard jars of mincemeat and give mine a little twist of my own by adding some dried fruit and a hint of booze. If you are making them for children, leave out the alcohol and maybe add a little cinnamon to enhance the flavour of the mincemeat.
Pimping up bought mincemeat
If using bought mincemeat I like to pimp it up a bit to add a bit more flavour with some sloe gin and added dried fruit, here I used dried cherries, but you can add whatever booze and dried fruit you prefer.
What I do is pour the jar of mincemeat into a pan, add 30 ml of sloe gin and my added cherries and heat gently.
It doesn’t need to cook for long, just enough for the suet pieces to melt slightly which thickens up the mixture after adding the alcohol.
Then leave to cool before assembling the mince pies.
How to make puff pastry mince pies
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (fan oven). Lightly oil the holes in your mince pie tin using a pastry brush and a little vegetable oil.
Unroll your sheet of puff pastry. Cut out 8 circles using a large cutter for the bases, then 8 circles using a smaller cutter for the lids.
Put the bases into the oiled tin.
Step 2. Fill each base with around a dessertspoon of your mincemeat. Don’t overfill as this will cause leaks!
Step 3. Beat an egg in a small bowl, then brush on the beaten egg around the edges of the mince pie bases, to help the lids to seal.
Then put the smaller lids onto the top of the mince pies, and press down around the edges to seal.
Brush over the top of each mince pie with the beaten egg.
If you have pastry left over from cutting out the lids and bases, roll it together into a ball then roll out with a dusted rolling pin and cut out some more bases and lids. You should have enough for 2 or 3 more mince pies. Prepare them as above.
Step 4. Bake at 180 degrees (C) for 18-20 minutes until lightly browned on top.
Remove from the oven once cooked and allow to cool.
Using a sharp knife, run around the edge of each mince pie to loosen in case the mincemeat has leaked. Then use a small spoon or similar to push the mince pies out of the tin.
Place the mince pies on a cooling rack to cool fully. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cold.
More mince pie recipes to try
- Viennese mince pies
- Cranberry cheesecake pies (a nice alternative to mincemeat)
- Frangipane mince pies from Kitchen Sanctuary
Can you freeze these mince pies
Yes they freeze well. Freeze in a tupperware box or similar to avoid them being squashed in the freezer. Leave out to defrost and then heat through before eating.
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Recipe
Puff Pastry Mince Pies
Ingredients
For the mincemeat:
- 412 g mincemeat one medium jar
- 30 ml sloe gin
- 50 g dried cherries
For the pastry:
- 1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry 375 g / 13 oz
- 1 egg beaten
- 10 ml vegetable oil
- 20 g icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Pour the jar of mincemeat into a pan, add 30 ml of sloe gin and 50 g cherries and heat gently.It doesn’t need to cook for long, just enough for the suet pieces to melt slightly which thickens up the mixture after adding the alcohol.Then leave to cool before assembling the mince pies.
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (fan oven). Lightly oil the holes in your mince pie tin using a pastry brush and a little vegetable oil.
- Unroll your sheet of puff pastry. Cut out 8 circles using a large cutter for the bases, then 8 circles using a smaller cutter for the lids.Put the bases into the oiled tin.
- Fill each base with around a dessertspoon of your mincemeat. Don’t overfill as this will cause leaks!
- Beat an egg in a small bowl, then brush on the beaten egg around the edges of the mince pie bases, to help the lids to seal.Then put the smaller lids onto the top of the mince pies, and press down around the edges to seal.Brush over the top of each mince pie with the beaten egg.
- If you have pastry left over from cutting out the lids and bases, roll it together into a ball then roll out with a dusted rolling pin and cut out some more bases and lids. You should have enough for 2 or 3 more mince pies. Prepare them as above.
- Bake at 180 degrees (C) for 18-20 minutes until lightly browned on top.Remove from the oven once cooked and allow to cool.
- Using a sharp knife, run around the edge of each mince pie to loosen in case the mincemeat has leaked. Then use a small spoon or similar to push the mince pies out of the tin.
- Place the mince pies on a cooling rack to cool fully. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cold.
Notes
Yes they freeze well. How much mincemeat will I use?
About half the jar of mincemeat.
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