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Lucy Lean

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in Baking· Christmas· cookies· Holidays· RECIPES

Mince Pies Please!

Christmas would not be Christmas in England without a mince pie or two – or three or four. This easy recipe is the best way to all get into the kitchen together to cook – kids love rolling and cutting out the dough and dusting with glitter. There’s no better way to kick off the holidays than a little baking as a family.

Let’s be clear these little sweet pies have no meat in them – the word mincemeat comes for medieval England when spices brought back from the Crusades were mixed with fruit and shredded meat and put into pies – traditionally eaten at Christmas time, sometimes called manger pies. Over hundreds of years these pies have shifted from savory to sweet – and have become classic Christmas treats. As you bite in to your first mince pie remember to make a wish!  They are quite labor intensive and it’s worth making up double if you can – believe me they go very quickly.

I think these are the perfect mince pies – two bites of sweet filling with just enough pastry to make a neat little pie but not too much so as to be cloying. I’ve moved away from a flaky shortcrust pastry to use pâte sucrée a sweet dough enriched with egg that bakes up more like a cookie – but either works really well.

For the filling I took a handful of golden raisins, a handful of Zante currants, 1/4 cup of apple sauce, a generous 1/2 cup of Rémy Martin Cognac and lots of mincemeat (about 1 1/2 cups) – mixed it all up, kept it in a Weck jar in the fridge and then fed it with cognac  – you can make it from scratch months in advance (as per Yotam Ottolenghi’s instructions to me for his secret to the best mince pies) or you can cheat and use it from a jar (Crosse and Blackwell makes a good Mincemeat using heirloom apples that’s pretty decent once you’ve added the other ingredients).  Mix it all together to get a thick consistency. As the alcohol macerates the raisins they will plump up.

 

Mince Pie Recipe

Makes about 24
What you will need

special nonstick mini pie pan that makes 24 at a time
small crinkly cut circle cookie cutter that’s just a tiny bit bigger than the pie pan indentations
a little star cookie cutter
Ingredient
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
pinch of fleur de sel
4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 egg beaten
mincemeat (If you don’t have mincemeat you can always make up a batch of jam tarts using jam)

1. Place flour, sugar, salt and butter in the food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles sand.
2. Add the egg to form a soft dough.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. I keep a batch made up in the refrigerator over the holidays to make up a batch of mince pies at a moments notice – they are best fresh from the oven!
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
5. Place the pie pan in the freezer to cool off. Once the dough has rested roll it out between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/8 inch thick using your Pastry Wands to get the perfect even thickness. Cut out the circles of pastry and gently place in each pie space. Place a small amount mincemeat in each and top with a pastry star. You can use an egg wash on the stars before putting them in the oven if you want shiny mince pies or leave them for a more matte finish.
6. Bake in the center of the oven for 7 – 10 minutes until the pastry is a nice golden brown on the bottom.
7. Cool on a wire rack and then transfer to a cake stand. Dust with confectioners’ sugar for a snow effect or if you are feeling in a gittery mood a light dusting of edible glitter for that extra sparkle and eat – don’t forget to make a wish!

Filed Under: Baking, Christmas, cookies, Holidays, RECIPES Tagged With: Christmas, cookies, English tradition, Manger pies, mince pies, Mincemeat, Remy Martin Cognac, star mince pies, stars, Yotam Ottolenghi

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I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watc I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers, for the sleepers in that quiet earth.  #WutheringHeights #EmilyBronte the in between - How it started How it ended - bedroom monochromatic light at 7am this morning to 7pm tonight and cocktail time with Tink gin and @david_austin_roses post parents evening and then in the middle I went on a walk with @chloescotland - actually it was an adventure to find the prettiest 13th century church with a moat and a graveyard filled with snowdrops and the tiniest grave - a child? And headstones that were leaning over - I thought tipsy Chloe thought giving up and I was reminded of the Brontë passage about #unquietslumbers #ghostsinmygarden swop harebells for snowdrops - the peace and quiet of a tiny graveyard with a moat and lopsided headstones and peace and quiet - a moment of calm and hope as the #inauguration looms large and as we keep to the rules of lockdown #stayhome #staysafe
Anxiety levels have been high these last few weeks Anxiety levels have been high these last few weeks and just when you think it can’t get any worse it does - Covid levels rising and hospitals dealing with record numbers of very unwell patients, a third lockdown and schools going online and exams cancelled, then there was the runoff in Georgia 💙 overshadowed by the insurrection in D.C. which led to the swift impeachment (again), there’s the excitement of Joe Biden’s inauguration that is being sucked away by the pandemic, the rise of white supremacy with troops guarding the Capitol and ever present fear.  But through it all we have to have hope - for the vaccine, for the teachers helping our kids learn online, for the nurses and doctors working against the odds, for M&S and Ocado deliveries,for a new administration, for arrests of violent rioters, for congress doing its job and for decency to be about to be sworn in.  It’s a lot and we all struggle daily to keep our heads above water.  On a personal level I find painting helps, as do walks in nature and family suppers, I’m wearing pretty dresses, silk underwear and wrapping myself in soft cashmere and yes I’m consuming more champagne than I usually do - if not now then when?  #Lockdown #Stayhome #staysafe #EnglishCountryHouse #EnglishCountryside
#snowdrops went for a walk to search for snowdrops #snowdrops went for a walk to search for snowdrops today - last year the lawn was carpeted in white, this year nothing.  Maybe they are late? Painted a small bunch #oilpaint #flowerpainting #snowdroppainting a sign of #spring I chickened out of painting the tiny glass jug that was a Christmas present - not sure I know how to paint that aqua colour - help!  #EnglishCountryhouse #EnglishCountryGarden #englishcountryside #Lockdown #Staysafe #stayhome
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