Sam’s Christmas Mince Pies
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 300g Matthew’s Cotswold Plain Flour
- Pinch salt
- 150g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 3 TBSP icing sugar
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1-2 TBSP water
For the filling:
- 250g dried mixed fruit
- 30g candied peel, chopped
- 250-300g mixed glace/dried fruit (dates, apricots, glace cherries, cranberries, figs, pineapple, stem ginger, etc…) chopped
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and grated
- 125g brown sugar
- 100g salted butter
- ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ cup brandy
- 2 TBSP sherry
- ½ tsp mixed spice
Extra:
- 1 egg white
- Icing sugar
- Christmas themed decorations
Looking for a classic Christmas Mince Pie recipe ready for the holidays? Then look no further! A big thank you to Sam Hayward (south_african_baker) for this great festive bake – we hope you enjoy giving it a go as well!
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- Baker: Sam Hayward
- IG: @south_african_baker
- Makes: 24-30
- Prep time: ~2 hrs
- Bake time: ~25 mins
- Flours used: Matthews Cotswold Plain Flour
Sam’s Christmas Mince Pies Baking Method:
- Make sure that all the fruit is about the same size, chop up any bigger pieces into smaller bits.
- To make the filling, add all the filling ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil while stirring. Then allow to simmer on a medium low heat for about 20 minutes until dark, thickened and smelling amazing! Set aside to cool for at least 90 minutes.
- To make the pastry, add the flour, salt, baking powder, icing sugar and butter to a food processor and whizz until it looks like breadcrumbs.
- Add the beaten egg while blending and add as much water as needed until the dough begins to come together. Be careful not to overmix!
- Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface or a silicone mat and gently bring it together with your hands until it forms a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for about 40 minutes.
- Butter and flour two 12-hole muffin trays and place in the freezer for ~5 mins to firm up.
- Preheat your oven to 190C/170C (fan).
- Once your pastry is chilled and the filling has cooled, roll out your pastry on a lightly floured surface or a silicone mat to a thickness of about 3mm. Using a round cutter of about 8-8.5 cm diameter, cut out 24 rounds. Using a star or snowflake cutter, cut out 24 lids. You may need to re-roll the pastry.
- Gently press each round into a muffin hole, using a small blob of floured spare dough to press them into the base. Fill each with a good helping of the filling mixture. Make sure to press the filling down gently and form a level surface. The filling should not protrude past the top of the pastry.
- With a fine paintbrush or your fingertip, gently brush a thin layer of egg white around the rim of each mince pie and then place a lid on each, gently pressing down.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Allow the mince pies to cool in the tray for 5-10 minutes before turning them out.
- Dust liberally with icing sugar, spritz with edible glitter spray and use the extra egg white to stick on any small Christmas-themed decorations like fondant holly leaves etc.
- These warm up really well! Just pop them in a 150C/130C (fan) oven for 4-5 minutes before serving.
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