Mince Pies - cooking help!

[FrostyMoanyWind]

I know it's a bit late, but we're visiting MIL tomorrow and I said I'd make her some mince pies. I have one jar of mix left. The last batch I made was a disaster, overflowed everywhere and stuck to the tray and had to be dug out in pieces. I'd use 1.5 teaspoons of mix per pie. So the second round I used just one teaspoon. Although some overflowed, I managed to get them out in one piece but they were miserably empty when we ate them.

What am I doing wrong? Is the oven too hot? What temp should I cook them at? I used 200 top and bottom heat as said in a recipe I found.

Well it depends how big your tins are, surely?

The bottom should be nicely full, almost to the top, but not heaped or overflowing.

Are you using jusrol or similar, I do as it's easy and dairy free. I found that there ready rolled shortcrust is too thick for mince pies.
So I need to get the rolling pin out.
P.s. I top with puff pastry, cut into a star or snowflake, I don't roll or stretch that. But because it is not a full covering it also increases the mincemeat to pastry ratio.

Standard mince pie shape! To be nicely full with mixture almost to the top but not heaped was the first try. I thought that was the correct way to do it. But when cooked, they overflowed everywhere (just the goo) and the pastry then stuck to the baking form and I couldn't get them out.

Use my own pastry and roll it fairly thin..

Chill your pastry before you cut it or so it doesn't shrink and then the meat overflows.
One teaspoon per pie and then cut a star as a lid. That way there isn't too much pastry and not enough mincemeat!
Do you brush with egg wash? Careful not to get that around the edges as that can make them stick too.
It might also be th type of mincemeat - Rey using a decent brand as perhaps supermarket stuff is too runny?

Sympathies, OP. If it helps you feel better, I made some that came out like rocks!

I may have had to eat almost all of them myself

I have this too and it drives me batty. Use my own pastry, top with a star, deep muffin tray.

Following with interest!

Are you using self raising flour or plain flour in the pastry?

S-R flour. Using Robertson's mincemeat.
No, don't brush with egg.

That's the problem. Make the pastry with plain flour.

Why is that a problem? My granny always used s-r flour.

I have the same problem and have a theory. I always use the jus rol ready rolled stuff. I think you need to make and/or roll if yourself a bit thicker than the desired thickness, then cut with a cutter and then use your rolling pin to make the bottom of the case and bit bigger. NB this is an untested theory. I remember the theory every year after making them!

The rising pastry pushes the 'cup' out of shape and pushes the filling out.

I use a sweet, rich pastry, rolled very thin, in shallow cupcake tins, with a scant teaspoon of filling. Sounds very stingy but it's not, it makes a lovely pie. I'll post the recipe, if you like. It's a never-fail.

You need to use plain flour for pastry. I think it's possible your oven is hotter than the temperature you are setting - they are not always accurate. If it's a fan oven set the temp to 180 instead.

I make my own sweet pastry for mince pies and have always used plain flour.

8oz plain flour
2tbsp caster sugar
4oz butter
1 egg

Mine never fail. I use a recipe that is half SR and half plain flour, with butter, enriched with an egg and sweetened with icing sugar.

I make my own mincemeat, and try to make sure not too much of the liquid makes it into the pie.

Try putting a little slash into the lid so that the steam has somewhere to go and doesn’t lift the lid off?

Yes, I do cut the lid. It bubbles out of that!