I'll never beat her mince pies!!!

[alphabetsoup1980]

There is was a member staff at my work (now 2 years retired) and she always made the 'first mince pies' of the Christmas season and brought them in. Everybody RAVED about them, and I agree that they were pretty nice, but they have now become the stuff of legends.... since she has retired, no one else has made any...
I'm feeling brave and want to make some this weekend..
I would usually use my trusted be-ro pastry recipe (lard and butter).

Any extra tips for really 'melt-in-your-mouth' shortcrust pastry???

Basically I want to see my name in Christmas-Mince-Pie Lights forever - not that I've put myself on a pedestal or anything!!!!!

Help a desperate sister out! 😘😘

Luckily no vegetarians (very small place of work so I know eveyone) but I will let them know about the lard 😊 zx

Omg sounds divine

You can get vegetable shortening to replace lard.

I absolutely agree that I shouldn't compare myself (obviously not a healthy attitude! !!).

Thanks for highlighting that though as I was getting a bit carried away 😂😂

All the tips sound amazing- sorry I haven't replied to them all.

I could make something different but I know everyone misses the mince pies so I thought I'd cheer everyone up 💓💓 xx

@Silverstripe

My mum makes legendary mince pies. She adds orange zest to the pastry and a teaspoon of cream cheese under the lid above the mincemeat - sounds odd / unorthodox but I’ve never had a better mince pie.

Yes, I used that recipe too for years and received many compliments. But since I found a frangipane mince pie recipe from Waitrose a few years ago, I switched. Perhaps I should make both this year...you know, to do a side-by-side comparison.

Take some Sainsbury’s taste the difference mince pies in and pass them off as your own 😂 or make a Christmas cake instead then people won’t judge.

Will people be happy eating homemade food at the moment?

Most shortcrust has lard in and most mincemeat has suet in. It's the veggie's job to ask if they aren't sure or the pies aren't labelled vegetarian.
It's only premade pastry that has gone vegan in recent years. It certainly isn't the norm.

Not just saying this because it’s vegetable fat, Trex is FAR superior to lard in mince pies. I use the Bero recipe but replace the lard with Trex and it’s far far lighter, beautiful pastry.

@Silverstripe

My mum makes legendary mince pies. She adds orange zest to the pastry and a teaspoon of cream cheese under the lid above the mincemeat - sounds odd / unorthodox but I’ve never had a better mince pie.

I use that recipe. Awesome! Only problem is they are do delicate and crumbly and fall to bits when you try to get them out of the tin. I get round this problem by making pastry, filling them then freezing them. When solid, they pop cleanly out of tin. Then I just cook them on demand but pop them in a paper case in the bun tin. So they just lift out.

@Procrastination4 can you tell us who's recipe it was originally so we can Google it? Sounds lush!

@BruceAndNosh same question as to procrastination... I've found my new favourite food!

I wouldn’t say to everyone “they’ve got lard in,” especially if you know nobody is vegetarian. If someone needs to know the ingredients they will ask.

I put crumble mix with bashed up pecans on top of my mince pies and add the orange zest to the pastry. They’re so nice.

Cream cheese?! Is there anything mumsnetters won’t put cream cheese in....?

The moneysaving expert old style forum has a good recipe for mince pies and pastry.

Cold, cold, cold pastry.

Make, chill, roll, chill, cut, chill, fill cook.

For orange lovers, can I recommend a tsp of orange curd in with the mincemeat. Waitrose do a good one.

Mine are really good, I use my shortbread recipe so they are melty snd buttery but it’s a pain in the arse to work with

The number one mistake people make imo is overworking the pastry!
Basically DON'T TOUCH IT! And don't let the fat melt.

Make the pastry in a food processor if you have one, with the butter /lard straight from the fridge.
I have naturally very cold hands, but if you don't, then soak your hands in very cold water before picking up the pastry to roll out. DON'T KNEAD IT!
Get them in the oven fast, don't leave them sitting out sweating.

Ps vegetarians should ask, my mincemeat is made with suet. I’d imagine mince pies are risky enough to ask

Go to Waitrose and buy 6 mince pies for about £1.50.

DHs Austrian Grandma and Great Aunt used to have a huge baking day and made a load of biscuits, cakes and mince pies for Christmas (while getting pissed).
Their Vanilla biccies were divine but their mince pies were amazing too so much so that nobody else in the family ever dared make them for fear of Comparison. Oma has been dead over 20 years and Great Aunt has dementia but still nobody dare make mince pies!

@Silverstripe

My mum makes legendary mince pies. She adds orange zest to the pastry and a teaspoon of cream cheese under the lid above the mincemeat - sounds odd / unorthodox but I’ve never had a better mince pie.

One of my teammates mum does the same. They are lovely. On our team it’s such a shame only he and I like mince pies

Use sweet shortcrust made with some icing sugar and an egg to bind. Mix orange zest in with the mincemeat and dot the top with 3-5 fresh cranberries depending on size of tart and berries - top with star shaped pastry.

I love mince pies with really thin pastry.

Then with glacé icing and hundreds and thousands on top!

I don't have a sweet tooth generally but these are the best treat at Christmas.

I make my own as GF. Is also cheat and use ready roll puff pastry and jar of mincemeat.

@ODFOx

Most shortcrust has lard in and most mincemeat has suet in. It's the veggie's job to ask if they aren't sure or the pies aren't labelled vegetarian. It's only premade pastry that has gone vegan in recent years. It certainly isn't the norm.

They almost all also use palm oil 🤢