One Bite Luxury Mince Pies
It’s our very first Christmas here at the British Larder Suffolk. We have already had snow so we know what to expect weather-wise; planning for the cold is easy in comparison to planning for Christmas!
It’s not as simple as counting in the in-laws and hey presto cooking for a family of six, no, it’s a bit more complicated than that. It’s true as the expression “finger in the wind” guess work. I had to guess how many turkeys we will need. I have now finally made all the Christmas puddings. After a panic I baked a few more…. I now have 102 individual Christmas puddings soaking and 24 large ones for Christmas day itself! As for the mince pie mixture I made 40kg and I hope it’s going to be enough. I have now documented all of this information and hopefully next year the calculations will be easier….I hope!
I did contemplate for a while weather or not I should put Christmas puddings and mince pies on the Christmas menus at all. I decided at first to try and be different and not to, but now the big doubt is setting in and I made it after all. Making these one bite mince pies is very time consuming but when people eat them and you can see them enjoying them, you realise that the hard work was all in the name of ‘being festive’.
Along with the Warm Ginger Spiced Cider, these little mince pies will be served slightly warm with a jar of brandy cream from the beginning of December.
I so desperately tried to be different last year and made this delicious mince pie mixture into various other mince pie delights such as Festive Power Bars and Luxury Mincemeat Biscuits. They are all good but you simply cannot beat the good old classic mince pie. Saying that, if I do have plenty of the mixture left these recipes might just come in handy after all….
Luxury Sweet Mincemeat Mixture
- 175g seedless raisins
- 120g sultanas
- 120g currants
- 50g cut mixed peel
- 50g chopped dried prunes
- 175g soft brown sugar
- 225g cooking apples - peeled, cored and grated
- 115g shredded suet
- 1 orange zest and juice
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 25g chopped almonds
- 25g chopped pecan nuts
- 10g mixed spice
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 75ml brandy
Mix all the ingredients together (use only half the brandy) in a large deep baking tray and cover and leave to stand overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 120°C, cover the tray with foil and place in the oven for about 2 hours.
Leave the mixture to cool slightly, then mix in the rest of the brandy.
Sterilise clean glass jars in the oven and spoon the warm mincemeat into the sterilized jars, seal and leave to mature.
Makes 1.3 kg
Chef's Tip:
This mincemeat needs to mature for at least two weeks before using. Once sealed, it can keep for at least 6 months.
Make the perfect gift: Fill clean sterilized glass jars with 300g mincemeat and attach a recipe to the side for the pastry and baking method for making mince pies at home.
Sweet Pastry
- 460g plain flour
- 280g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 160g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Rub the butter and vanilla seeds into the flour and sugar, add the eggs and bring the pastry together without over-working the pastry.
Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface, and divide the pastry into appropriate sizes. Do not knead the pastry, just push it together into flat squares.
Refrigerate the pastry for at least a half an hour before rolling the pastry out.
Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
Line the chosen moulds and spoon the sweet mincemeat mixture into the line pastry. Decorate each pie with either another piece of pastry on top or alternatively place one pecan nut on top. Bake the pies for 25 - 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Transfer the cooked pies to a cooling rack and leave to cool.
Serve them slightly warm.
Brandy Cream
- 200ml double cream
- 1 shot of brandy (25ml)
- 50g icing sugar
Makes at least 65 one bite mince pies
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Thank you for this amazing recipe, I am about to make another batch as the previous batch ran out very quickly!.Merry Christmas from sunny Dubai!
I love mince pies Look amazing and delicious!! gloria
these look delightful. I love the little jars and spoons to that you have photographed with them. I’m yet to make any mincemeat this year. Better get my skates on !
We’re away for Christmas anyway, but it’s lovely to have through the winter season in the storecupboard. I’ll look forward to trying your recipe
These are the perfect size. Mince pie is so rich I cannot eat a slice from a full-size pie. Would much rather have these tiny bites. I’ll make this soon.
Hi
I was inspired to make these for the first time to go with the Christmas cake that I have also made for the first time (my partner’s mothers recipe so no pressure..) The mince is now sitting in a jar waiting for me to put it into the pies in a couple of weeks but I have noticed that alot of the fat seems to have solidified around the edges which doesn’t look that appealing…is this normal? I know that they will be cooked again and will be served warm – but just wondering….