These easy mince pies with a sweet shortcrust pastry are super quick to make and so simple, you'll be making batch after batch in the run up to Christmas. A slightly sweetened pastry goes really well with the mincemeat. Homemade mince pies are delicious, cheaper than shop bought ones, plus there's no packaging. The shortcrust pastry is not too dry and very easy to make in a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, you can still make the recipe by hand. The prep time is just 10 minutes.
Jump to:
- More Christmas Ideas for the Holiday Season
- Common Questions
- How to make sweet shortcrust pastry in a food processor
- Recipe Tips
- How do I stop my mince pies sticking to the baking tray?
- How to make them
- What to serve with Mince Pies
- How to store them
- Can I reheat mince pies?
- Leftover Shortcrust Pastry
- Sustainability
- 📖 Recipe
More Christmas Ideas for the Holiday Season
If you're getting in the mood for Christmas, you might also like these festive ideas
Common Questions
A mince pie is a traditional British sweet pie and it doesn't contain any meat! Originally, these pies were made with meat, but this was dropped in the late Victorian era / early 20th century. The filling is now made from a dried fruit mixture of dried fruit, apple, suet and candied fruit and spices steeped in rum or brandy or fruit juice.
Some sweet mincemeats contains suet, which is animal fat so is not suitable for vegetarians. However, you can buy mincemeat without the suet. The pastry contains butter and eggs so is suitable for vegetarians but not vegans. You can also buy sweet shortcrust pastry that is suitable for vegans and made from vegetable oils.
There are lots of different versions of mincemeat available. Buy the best quality one you can. Some of the cheaper versions can be a little runny. You can buy mincemeat flavoured with Brandy or Port or Amaretto or without the alcohol. If you're looking for a vegetarian mincemeat, make sure it doesn't contain suet.
How to make sweet shortcrust pastry in a food processor
Making shortcrust pastry in a food processor couldn't be easier and is a real time saver. Always use cold butter from the fridge. This stops your pastry coming out too greasy. Just add the flour, cubed butter, sugar and ground almonds and mix together using the knife attachment. Once you have a breadcrumb mixture, add the egg and carry on mixing until it forms a shortcrust pastry. Take the pastry out and pop it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before it is ready to roll. This helps to firm it up and means it shouldn't crumble when you roll it out. If you are leaving it longer than 30 minutes, I recommend wrapping it in a beeswax cloth or clingfilm so it doesn't dry out.
Recipe Tips
- Always make sure the butter is cold from the fridge when making pastry. Warm butter will make your pastry feel greasy.
- I've used ground almonds in this shortcrust recipe as it adds a nice nutty taste. If you have a nut allergy, you should leave them out and make up the quantity with extra flour instead.
- I often make a batch of these mince pies. I recommend however just mixing up the pastry quantity in the recipe card (serves 12) at a time as otherwise your mixer might not be able to cope. The actual mixing takes less than 2 minutes, so just repeat until you have all the pastry you need.
- When rolling out the pastry, dust the surface with a little plain flour to stop it sticking and roll out to a thickness of about 3 mm. I also find it helps to dust the rolling pin and also the pastry cutters.
- You can glaze your mince pies with a little milk or beaten egg. This will give them a slightly darker appearance. This is entirely optional and you don't have to glaze them at all.
How do I stop my mince pies sticking to the baking tray?
A professional cake baker told me the best way is to use an oil such as vegetable oil in an aerosol to grease the baking tray. The oil is easiest to apply with an aerosol. You can also use a brush to apply a light covering to the tin. An aerosol is, in my experience, the most effective. Another option is to grease the tin with unsalted butter. Grease the holes and also grease around the edges as this is where the pies are most likely to stick. Wait until the pies have cooled slightly before removing from the tray. Take them out before they go properly cold.
How to make them
- Mix all the ingredients, apart from the egg, together in the food processor until it resembles crumbs then slowly add the egg and wait until the pastry forms. Switch off and remove the pastry from the mixer. Alternatively, mix the dry ingredients together then rub in the unsalted butter with your hands until you get a crumb consistency before adding the egg and kneading it together to form the pastry. Place the pastry in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to cool. If you're storing it longer than 30 minutes, wrap it in beeswax or clingfilm to stop it drying out.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C /400°F/gas mark 6. Grease a 12 hole baking try with oil or butter. Sprinkle a little flour on the work surface and roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Using 2 different sized pastry cutters, cut out the tops and bottoms using the larger cutter for the bottom and the next sized one for the tops.
- Place the bottoms in the pie tray, add a spoonful of mincemeat to the centre, brush the edges with a little milk to help the lids stick and place the lids on top. Press the edges together lightly using your fingers and prick the top with a fork to allow steam to escape.
- Place in the oven on a middle shelf for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before transfering to a cooling rack.
What to serve with Mince Pies
Mince pies are delicious eaten on their own. My kids like to shake a little icing sugar over the top to look like snow (!). Some people like to serve them with a brandy butter or other cream.
How to store them
Homemade mince pies will keep for one week if stored in an airtight container. They don't need to be kept in the fridge. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. You need to freeze them in their trays so they keep their shape. Once frozen, you can then transfer to another container. You can also freeze them before they have been cooked. Again, you need to freeze them in their trays to keep their shape before transfering to another container. Defrost thoroughly before cooking.
Can I reheat mince pies?
I think mince pies are always best served warm and yes you can reheat them. You don't want to cook them again so reheat them in the oven on a low temperature of 120°C / 250°F /gas mark 1 for just 3 - 4 minutes. Individual mince pies can also be reheated in a microwave for about 15 seconds.
Leftover Shortcrust Pastry
If you have any shortcrust pastry leftover, it will keep in the fridge for 1 - 2 days. You can also freeze it. Wrap it carefully to prevent freezer burn and store it in the freezer for 3 - 6 months. Make sure it is thoroughly defrosted before use. Alternatively, it is easy to make little pin wheels with it that you can cook with the mince pies. Just roll the pastry out, spread with a little jam, peanut butter or chocolate spread, roll up and bake for 10 - 15 minutes.
Sustainability
Making your own mince pies is a more sustainable option than shop bought ones as home made ones come with zero packaging. Sugar and ground almonds can be bought as Fairtrade items
📖 Recipe
Easy Mince Pies with Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
Equipment
- 12 hole cake tin
- 2 pastry cutters about 7.5cm and 6.5cm in diameter
Ingredients
- 200 g plain flour organic
- 40 g golden caster sugar organic, fairtrade
- 75 g ground almonds organic, fairtrade
- 125 g unsalted butter organic
- 12 teaspoon mincemeat sweet
- 1 egg beaten, organic, freerange
- 5 tablespoon milk organic, to glaze
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients, apart from the egg, together in the food processor until it resembles crumbs then slowly add the egg and wait until the pastry forms. Switch off and remove the pastry from the mixer. Alternatively, mix the dry ingredients together then rub in the butter with your hands until you get a crumb consistency before adding the egg and kneading it together to form the pastry. Place the pastry in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to cool.200 g plain flour, 40 g golden caster sugar, 75 g ground almonds, 125 g unsalted butter, 1 egg
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C /400°F/gas mark 6. Grease a 12 hole baking try with oil or butter. Sprinkle a little flour on the work surface and roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Using 2 pastry cutters, cut out the top and bottoms of the pies using the larger cutter for the bottom and the next size one for the tops.
- Place the bottoms in the pie tray, add a spoonful of mincemeat, brush the edges with a little milk to help the lids stick and place the lids on top. Carefully press the edges together using your fingers and prick the tops with a fork to allow steam to escape. Glaze the tops with a little milk if you like.12 teaspoon mincemeat, 5 tablespoon milk
- Place in the oven on a middle shelf for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transfering to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Always make sure that your butter is cold from the fridge when making pastry.
- I've used ground almonds in this shortcrust recipe. If you have a nut allergy, you should leave them out and use extra flour instead.
- I often make a batch of these. I recommend however just mixing up the pastry quantity in the recipe card (serves 12) at one time as otherwise your mixer might not be able to cope. The actual mixing takes less than 2 minutes, so just repeat until you have all the pastry that you need.
- When rolling out the pastry, dust the surface with a little plain flour to stop the pastry sticking and roll out to a thickness of about 3 mm. I also find it helps to dust the rolling pin and also the pastry cutters.
- You can glaze your mince pies with a little milk or beaten egg. This will give them a slightly darker appearance. This is entirely optional and you don't have to glaze them at all.
Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
Brenda
Any recipe with ' quick ' in the title is a winner.'Super quick' is even better . Never tried ground almonds before. really nice