Unbelievably easy mince pies

Unbelievably easy mince pies

You can throw the dough around and the mince pies still come out crisp and biscuity in this kid-friendly Christmas recipe

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes 18 pies

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 - 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Freezable

Can be frozen uncooked

Method

  1. To make the pastry, rub 225g cold, diced butter into 350g plain flour, then mix in 100g golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt. Combine the pastry into a ball - don't add liquid - and knead it briefly. The dough will be fairly firm, like shortbread dough. You can use the dough immediately, or chill for later.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Line 18 holes of two 12-hole patty tins, by pressing small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each hole. Spoon 280g mincemeat into the pies.
  3. Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies. Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal - you don't need to seal them with milk or egg as they will stick on their own. (The pies may now be frozen for up to 1 month).
  4. Beat 1 small egg and brush the tops of the pies. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. To serve, lightly dust with icing sugar. They will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.

Per pie

222 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 30g, fat 11 g, saturated fat 7g, fibre 1g, sugar 12g, salt 0.26 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 201-220

  • Binder photo Gareth

    12 December 2010

    Gareth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Not sure about unbelievably easy - but certainly unbelievably tasty! I made these a couple of times last year and am about to make more this year - there was no doubting the recipe I was going to use - this is simply the best!

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  • Binder photo Anna

    12 December 2010

    Anna rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My 1st attempt at homemade mince pies! Wonderful... I did grease the muffin tin and made 12 HUGE pies... they looked like mini puddings but are delicious! Will def try again - thank you

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  • Binder photo sue

    12 December 2010

    sue rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is the best pastry for mince pies I have ever tried. If you prefer to use cutters for the traditional look then place a chopping board or glass worktop saver in the fridge until really cold press out the dough then use the cutters picking them off witha knife. Do not grease the tin you are using either.I also made little stars as biscuits with this dough .

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  • Binder photo Snowy

    12 December 2010

    Snowy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I couldn't believe how easy these were, I used the food processor and a bit of egg to bind....I will be using this recipe again and again.

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  • Binder photo ktosulls

    12 December 2010

    ktosulls commented on this recipe

    Just fancied making some mince pies for the family....this is the most delicious recipe I have ever tasted for mince pies. I didn't use a full piece of pastry for the top of them....instead I cut out a little star to partly cover the mincemeat and the results were fantastic.

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  • Binder photo ferg

    12 December 2010

    ferg rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    the end result was very good however the pastry work was very fiddly and alot harder than a normal shortcrust pastry, however they did taste good.

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  • Binder photo bonschmitty

    13 December 2010

    bonschmitty commented on this recipe

    Ive tried tens upon tens of pastry recipes for mince pies and this is by far the BEST!Its got a very unique texture,crumbly and melt in the mouth.Will never use another recipe now.

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  • Binder photo Liza

    14 December 2010

    Liza commented on this recipe

    There's no doubt they are tasty but they won't come out the tin! I tried using a non-stick patty tin - they stuck. And I tried paper cases - you have to prise them out and they crumble everywhere. Anyone else have this problem?

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  • Binder photo JS

    15 December 2010

    JS commented on this recipe

    Made these last night. They were an absolute hit. I took the previous advice and added 1/2 beaten egg to bind the pastry and rolled it out. Pastry was short and crumbly and as long as you use a shallow pie tin and grease well they come out with no dramas. Also, recipe made 2 dozen. Result!

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  • Binder photo KittyKate

    15 December 2010

    KittyKate rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Brilliant recipe - i've used this for many of my cookery classes; people with literacy problems, children, older men....All of them found this recipe dead easy to make and turns out great every time. Would recommend really giving the tin an extra greasing, or use some muffin cases.

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  • Binder photo Gaby

    15 December 2010

    Gaby commented on this recipe

    Liza, did you wait a few minutes before you tried to get them out of the tin?

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  • Binder photo tina

    15 December 2010

    tina rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Lovely pies gonna be a firm family favourite.

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  • Binder photo Glitter_Bug

    16 December 2010

    Glitter_Bug rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Brilliant recipe! These were such a hit with my housemates, we made two large batches and they went so quickly! I do agree that you really need to add some beaten egg to the mixture, otherwise the dough takes a lot of handling before it can really be shaped.

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  • Binder photo BARBARA

    18 December 2010

    BARBARA commented on this recipe

    Another Christmas and once again I have got out this mince pie recipe. It is always a hit and never fails me. Perfect title for these easy peasy mince pies

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  • Binder photo SueB

    18 December 2010

    SueB rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Just made mince pies in a deep normal sized muffin tray ,buttered the cup holes well with melted butter.I too add half beaten egg to help bind it ,the flour and butter was whizzed in the food processor then whizzed the sugar in a bit then the egg for a bit the mix was still looking crumbly so tipped out the pastry onto the floured work top and pushed it all together roll out and cut out large circle with a cutter and gently pushed into the muffin tray looked a little messy and some needed patch repairs LOL but it`s not really seen anyway.I used the Jewelled mincemeat another recipe from "Good Food" that i made some months ago that had been in the freezer i added chopped nuts to that .Cut smaller circles for lids lightly pressed to seal the tops.20 minutes later fabulous pies,ran out of minced meat so 2 got red onion chutney and goats cheese in them ,resulting in main and pudding pies in one bake,Absolutely yum !!!

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  • Binder photo Lou

    19 December 2010

    Lou commented on this recipe

    Absolutely delicious! will use this recipe again and again. Pastry lovely, crumbly and sweet.

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  • Binder photo Lou

    19 December 2010

    Lou rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Jimmy James

    19 December 2010

    Jimmy James rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Terrible. The pastry is far too cumbly and does not come easily out of the tin at all. It tastes no better than any other pastry I have ever made and is actualy a lot more hassle to make than "normal" sweet shortcrust pastry - do not waste your time or ingredients.

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  • Binder photo Amber Muhinyi

    19 December 2010

    Amber Muhinyi commented on this recipe

    Tried this recipe (minus egg) and the mince pies were not only simple to prepare and bake, but tasted very good! Tip: we used 1/2 cranberry sauce and 1/2 mince meat for the filling - tradition defying, but delicious!

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  • Binder photo Bluebird

    19 December 2010

    Bluebird rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I wish I'd read the comments before embarking on making these! I'd never made my own pastry and saw 'easy' in the title so started following the recipe to the letter and got so frustrated! My pastry was a crumble and no matter how much I tried to 'knead it' it was still crumbly and I could not make a ball no matter how hard I tried. In the end I had to press the crumble in the holes in the tin with my thumb. I'd sworn I'd never attempt it again. Then they were ready and after a difficulty of getting them out we tried them and absolutely loved them! I think next time (and there will be a next time :-) ) I'll definitely add some egg or water to bind the pastry. Delicious taste though!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes 18 pies

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 - 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Freezable

Can be frozen uncooked

Ingredients

  • 225g cold butter , diced
  • 350g plain flour
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • 280g mincemeat
  • 1 small egg
  • icing sugar , to dust
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Per pie

222 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 30g, fat 11 g, saturated fat 7g, fibre 1g, sugar 12g, salt 0.26 g

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