Mince Pies Recipe

When people think of mince pies, they usually start daydreaming about the holidays. These adorably festive pies are perfect for enjoying with family and friends, and we love the fact that each person gets their own mini pie. These sweet delights would be a perfect addition to your Christmas dessert spread, and you can even consider pairing them with a nice port (for those who are 21 and over).

Recipe developer Jennine Rye came up with this wonderful recipe that tastes as good as it looks. "Making mince pies really is a quintessential part of the Christmas experience here in the U.K. when the mince pie baking starts to happen, everything suddenly feels Christmassy." Rye raves. "I love how simple it can be to make mince pies — especially this recipe. It's a great festive family activity because of that — a fun recipe to make with kids." We love the idea of making these with the whole family! If you're in the same boat, keep reading to find out how to make these mince pies that are off-the-charts good.

Ready to get this festive baking party started? If so, start by grabbing a pen and paper, and make a list of the ingredients you will need to put this delicious dessert together. 

Begin with butter, which you will use to grease the muffin pan. You will also need plain flour, a pack of shortcrust pastry, and a jar of mincemeat. Last but not least, swing by the dairy aisle, and grab some milk. The only other item you will need is powdered sugar.

Before you do anything else, turn on your oven, and set the temperature to 400 F. This allows the oven time to get nice and hot while you do the rest of the prep work. 

Then, grab the shortcrust pastry and a rolling pin, and roll it out, just like you would pizza dough. "Use flour to dust the surface with so that the pastry doesn't stick, and keep turning it by 90 degrees every so often," Rye says. "Apply moderate, even pressure with long strokes to make the pastry even." Using a round, 3 7/16-inch pastry cutter, cut out eight pastry circles.

Before you place the dough into the muffin pan's cups, grease them with butter. This will prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan — making cleanup easier, while also making it a lot simpler to take the pastries out of the metal cups once they finish cooking. 

Next, put the shortcrust pastry circles directly into the cups, and scoop in the mincemeat until it's just below the edge of the pastry. Be sure that you don't overfill the mince pies, because they could overflow and create a mess in the oven.

You should have a little bit of remaining pastry left. Roll it out as you did before, and then cut out star shapes, and place the pastry star on top of each pie. "There are lots of different ways to top a mince pie — some people just leave them open with no pastry topping, [while other] people put another circular layer of pastry on top so that the filling is entirely encased in pastry," Rye shares. "If you have different shaped pastry cutters, those are also options. You can really get as creative as you'd like!"

Once you have the toppers on the pies, take out your milk and a brush. Dip the brush into the milk, and brush a little bit on the top of each pie. "It's common to glaze mince pies with either egg or milk — they're interchangeable, really. Or, you can beat egg and milk together, and use that to glaze the pastry," Rye shares. "Milk tends to not give the same shine as egg glaze, but it can encourage browning. Honestly, I use it when I can, because it feels less wasteful to me than egg wash — especially when the pastry will be dusted with [powdered] sugar at the end, anyway."

Pop the pies into the oven, and bake them for 25 to 30 minutes. Toward the end of the baking time, the pastries should turn a beautiful golden brown color, and the mincemeat should begin to bubble. 

Once you take the pies out of the oven, place them on a wire tray to cool. After they finish cooling, dust them with powdered sugar. "Mince pies are really versatile and can be eaten as they are, but they are definitely at their best when gently warmed," Rye says. "If you want to make things more fancy, warm one in a bowl, and then top with vanilla ice cream or warm custard!"

Anything left? All good! "When the mince pies have completely cooled, it is best to transfer them to an airtight container, where they'll keep well at room temperature for about a week," Rye says.