December 18, 2018
Mince Pie recipe as made by my mother for years! Based on Delia Smith’s recipe in Delia’s Complete Illustrated Cookery Course
Ingredients
• 4oz plain flour and 4oz self-raising (or 8oz plain flour)
• 4oz cold butter
• 1 egg yolk
• Some cold water
• 1 jar of mincemeat – add some extra brandy if shop bought! Or you can make your own if you are feeling keen...
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
Step 1
Cut the cold butter up into cubes, rub it into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs, make a well in the centre and drop the egg yolk in, add a tablespoon of cold water and work together – you may need some more cold water, but this depends on how warm the butter has got.
Step 2
Rest the pastry for 30mins in a cool place (unlike the gingerbread recipe following later in the week you do need to rest this otherwise it won’t roll out properly!)
Step 3
Roll out the pastry as thin as you can – 2mm thick is ideal. Cut out circles for the bottoms of the mince pies and either appropriate shapes (mum uses stars) or more circles for the tops. The size of the circle you need will depend on the size of the holes in the tart tin.
Step 4
Grease the tart tin with a smear of butter, and press the pastry bottoms into the tart holes, add a teaspoon of mincemeat and then pop the top on the tart, if you are feeling keen paint a bit of milk on the top. If you’ve used circles for the tops, press them down round the edges and make a little cut in the top – if you’ve used shapes, don’t worry about this bit.
Step 5
Bake in the oven at 180° for 15 – 20mins, watch them from 15mins to make sure the tops don’t burn.
Step 6
Sprinkle with caster sugar while still warm and eat with clotted cream and / or brandy butter and / or custard.