to make mince pies

[WitchWay]

Going to PIL's today for pre-Christmas lunch.

MIL always serves horrible shop-bought mince pies that I & DS don't like. I eat one out of politeness but DS is always "full". DH eats anything sweet so doesn't care.

I'm about to make a batch of delicious mince pies & take them as a gift. MIL will serve them instead she & FIL really like home-made mince pies - they eat loads of mine if they're over here at Christmas.

DH thinks I'm being rude. I'm not - mine are nicer , she can save her nasty ones for another day - win win I'd say...

Also, like a Christmas cake, the earlier you make it the better. I made my Xmas cake in March 😄

I love mince pies, but am the only one who eats them. I usually stick to shop ones for ease, but a friend visited with some home made ones, which tasted fab, so I'm planning on making some tomorrow. Yum!

I was planning on using ready made pastry and tweaking the mincemeat, but as you have been so detailed in your instructions, I might just try to do it myself although it's bound to be as awful as my pastry always is.

Tweaking of mincemeat is always necessary to put your own twist on it.

I sometimes put little stars on the top instead of full pastry lids - I have a set of lovely star cutters

MrsW - do have a go at the pastry - it may well be fantastic!

I completely messed up 'customising' shop-bought mincemeat a few years ago. At least I assume the added brandy is the reason for it bubbling over massively, burning to a cinder and welding the pastry into the trays so thoroughly that the whole lot - tins and all - went in the bin

Welding the pastry into the tin?!!!

And you threw it away rather than getting a knife to it?!!!

I make puff pastry mince pies every year for work just before Christmas leave is agreed as everyone my boss likes them.

I luckily have all of Christmas off

No MrsWembley I tried a knife. I tried soaking them. I tried the vicious oven cleaning gel that stripped about 7 years worth of accumulated gunk off the inside of the oven in our rented house. Nada. It was either throw them away or varnish them and try to convince the Tate Modern I'd done it on purpose

I make gf ones, and always make Nigella's mincemeat (the Hettie Potter recipe). It makes for a lighter taste than shop ones, and I put stars on the top instead of lids too.

The thing about homemade mincemeat is that it's easy to make, and the effort to praise ratio is exceptional!

Thanks OP. Mission:mince pie making with my toddlers now on the cards.
I buy the filling every year and never seem to get around to making them.

Oh, and yanbu. Don't like most shop ones at all.

Gliblet, did you try licking them out?

Otherwise, I think the Tate Modern might have accepted them!

Just made some!

Thank-you for the pastry tips - that was the best pastry I've ever made! And a friend has just had a second, even though they're only just cool enough to eat and he is famous for his... shall we say, honesty.

Ta-dah!

Yum yum yum - so glad the pasty was good Mrs W - I made a few more today & there is pastry chilling in the fridge in case we fancy more they're all gone already

*pastry not pasty - though you could try Cornish pasties now you can do shortcrust...

Ooh, I don't know about that! And anyway, I'm from Devon and I think someone might complain...