Traditional Homemade Christmas Mince Pies 

From as early as I can remember, Christmas time tasted like homemade mince pies. Mom made the best! I struggle to buy them from the shops because it’s just not the same… I also love life-rhythms and traditions and this one is tops!

So, here’s the recipe: 

Now to be fair – I do buy the fruit mince from the shops, it’s the pie pastry I make myself (see my great-grandmothers recipe for the real deal fruit mince below).

Christmas Mince Pie Pastry

Ingredients:

225g flour
150g butter
1T ground almonds
1T castor sugar
1T water
Pinch salt

Method:

Put everything in the blender, and then once it’s all mixed together and pastry-looking, divide in two, wrap the balls in cling wrap and refrigerate.

Use one ball at a time. Roll the pastry on a floury surface and cut out the shapes. We use a squiggly edged circle for the base and a 8 pointed stard for the top. Put the bases in your cupcake tin and spoon in the fruit mince. Lightly beat an egg and submerge the top star shape in the egg mixture and pop it on top.

Put these in the oven at 180 degrees for around 10-15 minutes. Once they turn a light golden brown, take them out, let them cool and sprinkle icing sugar over the top through a sieve.

Hello Christmas!

Hang on! If you want to SERIOUSLY impress your in-laws, you can make the actual fruit mince. Whaaaaaaat! I’ve never made this myself but this is my great-grandmothers recipe.

Great Granny’s Fruit Mince:

Ingredients:

250g suet
250g peeled and cored apples
500g seedless raisins
250g currents
125g mixed peel (can buy it in a box like you do cherries)

Method:

Mix together with 250g sugar and 1t mixed spice. Rinse bottles with brandy (let it coat the bottle) and when bottling leave hollow at top for brandy.

Let me know how it goes!