Okay, so there’s no way to pretend that this isn’t a Christmas recipe, and I’m not sure that the middle of a heatwave is really the best time to be making them, but you can always bookmark this post for later in the year!
Actually, in the interest of research, my Mum made these for our family Easter party, and they went down a storm. So maybe mince pies aren’t just for Christmas after all!
The Mince Pies chapter on Love, Lies and Lemon Pies is one of my favourites actually (if I’m allowed to have favourites in my own book!) so I couldn’t resist giving you a little snippet here to go with the recipe:
Ella blinked up at me, then looked at the mixer. “Gran’s notes say to rub the butter and flour together. It doesn’t mention a mixer.”
“Trust me, the mixer will be quicker,” I said. “If I have to do seven batches of mince pies by hand, we’ll be here until next Christmas.”
“But will it taste the same?” Ella pressed. “They need to be perfect.”
“It’s exactly the same,” I promised, trying not to sound impatient. They were going to be scoffed down in no time and no one would be able to tell the difference. “Trust me. You know me and perfect.”
“Yeah,” Ella said, clutching the recipe a little more tightly in her hand. “I know. It’s just—”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Grace snapped. “They’ll be perfect, Ella. Little Miss OCD over here will make sure of that. What I want to know is why it matters so damn much.”
You’ll have to read the book to find out why the mince pies are so important to Ella, but here’s the recipe to keep you going!
Ingredients
- 225g cold, diced butter
- 350g plain flour
- 100g golden caster sugar
- pinch of salt
- Jar of mincemeat
- 1 small egg to glaze
- icing sugar to dust
Method
Pre heat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6.
Rub the butter into the sifted flour until it looks like breadcrumbs
Mix in the golden caster sugar and pinch of salt.
Combine the pastry into a ball and knead it briefly.
Roll out the dough and cut out rounds to line a greased cupcake tin.
Spoon mincemeat into the cases, just enough to come almost all the way up the side of the pastry cups
Cut out smaller rounds to top the pies, pressing the edges gently together to seal.
Beat the egg and use it to brush the top of the pies.
Bake for 20 minutes until golden.
Cool and dust with icing sugar.
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