who makes mince pies? who buys them? who's convinced they *can't* make them?

[hatwoman]

because I am coming over positively evangelical with the discovery that I can make them and I can make pastry - I have spent years thinking it was beyond me, and buying into Nigella's "you'll never make pastry as good as bought so why bother" bollocks - and, more annoyingly, buying into Waitrose all butter god knows how much for a box of 6. But I have made my own this year - and they are, though I say it myself, loads better than any bought. they're as good as my mum's (perhaps to do with it being her recipe) amd I am absolutely delighted. ladies (and gentle men) of mumsnet, I entreat you, find a good recipe and get the rolling pin out. You won't regret it.

[TinyTimLivesinVictorianSqualor]

I can't make them but DP has made some this afternoon, I'm going to heat them up in a moment.
I suspect I could have better, but they look like a good attempt.

[KbearingGiftsWeTraverseAfar]

I make my own, mum's recipe, never fails, delicious, but I can only eat four with one cup of coffee!!!

Not struck on shop bought cakes or mince pies, it's the way I was dragged brought up, on my mum's home cooking!

[pinetreedog]

I don;t like 'em

[LazyLinePainterJane]

come on then, hatwoman, what is the recipe?!!?

Am attempting first go at homemade this year.

[tassisssss]

I make them

but i do find the whole thing a huge fiddle

they're so different from shop bought ones though, no real comparison

i tend to buy the most expensive mincemeat in tescos...i have made the mincemeat too, but wasn't convinced it was worth it!

[SpookyMadMummy]

I make mine.
For a couple of christmasses I bought them but this year I have made 4 xmas cakes, and I will be making Mince Pies, Lemon curd and jam tarts and Bakewell tarts

[octavia]

make them pastry on the bottom crumble mixture with chopped up hazlenuts on top

[ATortIsForLifeNotJustChristmas]

I make the pastry but not the mince meat.
Sometimes use my Mums orange pastry recipe to make a change.
Mine nearly always taste better than shop bought.

[Mercy]

I buy ready made pastry and a jar of mincemeat and my dc are convinced I am a great cook - even though they don't like mince pies they will eat one each because they helped mummy 'make' them. I do the same actually.

It's only dh and my mum who like them.

Dh's friend makes his own pastry (orange like Tort's mum) and his own mincemeat.

[peanutbear]

I have just made some with the children we enjoy making them together and I think they taste much nicer

[TheRedQueen]

I make them myself - including the mince meat itself. I don't like them myself, but most people who get offered one seems to gobble up six, so they can't be all that bad.

We hold a Mince Pie & Mulled Wine Party each year on the second Sunday in Advent. We ask people coming to bring a bottle of red wine "for the pot" and I make the mince pies. I generally make the mince in October/early November and the pies a day beforehand. This year I made 144 and they have all gone. Last year it was 192 (but we had an especially large number of people coming). I swear each year that I am never doing it again, but somehow Christmas just wouldn't be the same without it .....

[Kathyate6mincepies]

I make 'em. My mum cleverly convinced me when I was 11 that my pastry was better than hers (which it isn't, but she gushes enough to make the whole thing a positive experience).

I would say: freshness is all, so don't make too many (you could make all the pastry in one go and freeze half). IME how fresh they are outweighs how light a touch you have with pastry etc.

[hippipotTEDCHRISTMASTREEami]

Oh ocatvia please would you share the recipe? They sound utterly delicious!!

I always buy them, but am convinced homemade ones must taste better!

[mylittleponey]

any good pastry recipes?

[YummersBrandyAndMincePies]

hatwoman - me too! made them for the first time this year and they are bloody lovely. its a bit tricky getting the pastry/mincemeat ratio right, but i think i've cracked it now. only problem is they taste so good we keep eating them, which is not very advent-y. trying to keep them for christmas eve onwards., so we appreciate them!

[Mercy]

144 mince pies

[hatwoman]

yummers - me too. they are too good to put in the freezer

[OverMyDeadStuffedTurkey]

I hate mincemeat so Inever make them!

I make chocolate pies instead, same as mince pies but with yummy gooey chocolate moose filling! yum yum

[OverMyDeadStuffedTurkey]

and mini lemon mirangue pies too.

[brightwell]

I only like homemade mince pies, I use Nigella's recipe, the pastry is nice & light.

[Dalrymps]

i make them, well, the pastry and buy the mince meat but the way i see it, if i've put them in the oven then i made them... got some awful mincemeat last year though which ruined them, find that just the basic mince meat is the best

[hatwoman]

for those interested here's my pastry recipe - can be orange or plain

1 lb plain flour
half pound butter
4 oz lard

either - starting with cold fat chop fat into small pieces then rub fat in to the flour - gently til it looks like breadcrumbs. because this is very rich and has a higher proportion of fat to flour than normal short-crust rubbing in takes 'kin ages. there's no particular reason why you have to do it in the kitchen though - I did it infront of the telly. also because it takes so long take a break and pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes,

or - freeze the fat and then grate it into the flour - quicker but a bit less satisying.

for the orange version: stirr in the finely grated rind of one orange. use the orange juice (add gradually) to bind the bread-crumb like stuff into something that looks like pastry

for the plain version - just use a bit of water - add a bit at a time to bind it.

put it back in the fridge for at least half an hour - preferably more. I've been making the pastry one evening and then the pies another.

when rolling out - only take a bit at a time out of the fridge. if it gets warm put it back.

for an unusual but gorgeous touch mix some cream cheese with some sifted icing sugar - just to sweeten it a bit - just do it by taste - and top the mince meat with a teaspoon of this before putting the pastry lid on. this is particularly good with the orange pastry - but not to every one's taste so a good idea to mark the cream cheese ones somehow (my mum always does an extra snip in the lid)

[ladygrinningsanta]

hatwoman's instructions have what for me are the two really salient points

1. Use lard in the pastry
   
   
2. Keep the pastry nice and cold
   
   I found my pastry making improved hugely when I started using a marble board and rolling pin instead of wooden as it seems to help the pastry stay cool.