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! 😘😘

I'm sure the suet in shop-bought mincemeat is vegetarian, it's very easy to buy veg suet. I use unsalted butter and Trex for pastry; as others have said, keep it as cool as possible, handle as little as possible, use as little water as possible.
Someone suggested taking cinnamon rolls instead - when just baked, they are lovely, but they don't keep, so mince pies would be much better.

For anyone looking For The shortbread type pastry , the BBC food on mentioned earlier has that type of pastry. I'm surprised that some people don't use all butter in their pastry. I do and it's never greasy. Maybe because I roll out the pastry until it's very thin. I get a good third more than the recipe days. DH has already hinting I should make a trial batch after DS1 birthday .

Home made mincemeat and you will never use shop-bought again.

I've never made my own mincemeat!! You've inspired me!!!

goose I’ve used that one for the last few years too and even though it’s a little more time consuming it’s the best pastry for mince pies. I’ve mine done and in the freezer. I’m tempted to add some marzipan to it for the next batch though.

I also do Delia’s sausage rolls every Christmas with her quick flaky pastry, they’re awesome too. That’s next week’s job for the freezer.

almond crumble ones are very popular here. I don't really have a recipes as such but flour/butter and sugar together as a crumble, then add about the same quantity of crushed amaretti biscuits, a couple of tablespoons of ground almonds (non essential but if you have some fling it on in) and some flaked almonds.

Put this directly on top of the mincemeat instead of a pastry lid.....to keep things tidy use a cutter the same size as the lid of the pie, stand it over the top and spoon the crumble in, lift cutter and repeat for remaining pies, saves it getting absolutely everywhere

I often put marzipan into mince pies as well... a blob in on top of the mincemeat and under the pastry.

Also I often take the opportunity to use up any dregs from the drinks cabinet...sherry/port/amaretto/drambuie.... all go well with mince meat, just add in a slosh and stir it around, it really livens up basic shop mincemeat.

@alphabetsoup1980

I've never made my own mincemeat!! You've inspired me!!!

Oh you’re in for a treat! We just made our first batch for the season the other day. It’s no bother at all, and makes a world of difference to the finished product.

That’s when it was fresh out of the oven, all gloriously glossy and smelling absolutely divine!

My mum makes the best mince pies in the world. The secret is definitely making your own mincemeat. She does a variety of toppings too...grated marzipan, frangipane, meringue... Drools.

To get the crumbliest pastry 2oz lard, 2oz butter and 4oz plain flour. Water to bind (as little as possible) and wear a vest with all the windows open when making them. Your hands have to be freezing! Don’t overwork the dough - touch as little as possible after forming crumbs. My great grandma’s recipe. It never fails and you will be hailed as the mince pie queen (however it will ruin shop bought mince pies for you forever and you will spend all December making them) you’re welcome!

Can you just clarify this? Sounds like an excellent tip (mine always get stuck in tin!) But just want to make sure I'm getting it right?
Do you freeze before cooking? With the filling already in or out?
Thank you

Sorry the above questions was for @BruceAndNosh

@Winterwoollies oh I need marzipan mince pies! I can eat marzipan by the slice.

@BloomedAgain they’re really yummy. The marzipan caramelises a bit.

Nigella has a nice touch with pastry, I think, as do Delia and Mary Berry. But really OP they're bound to be tasty and I for one would be thrilled if anyone made mince pies at work.

Add a couple tablespoons of vodka for flakiness and make sure everything is really cold.

You need an egg yolk in the pastry and make the pastry with icing sugar. They will melt in your mouth x

Add a few drops of cider or white wine vinegar to the water you use to bring the pastry together. Makes it dead easy to handle and super friable. If it's bought rather than homemade mincemeat, stir an extra tbsp of brandy into the jar 😉

Josceline Dimbleby's mince pie recipe is what many people are talking about. Orange pastry and a blob of cream cheese. It's from a very old Christmas recipe book with a fabric covered cover.
Still available online.
I buy mincemeat and add Cointreau, grated orange rind and lots of chopped cherries and soak this with weekly top ups of Cointreau for a month or so.
Always have a glass of champagne whilst making them and throw a bit of champagne in the mincemeat mix too.
Best mince pies by far.
I make a few hundred every year as they are much loved and given to friends in early December. They all call it the start of Christmas.
I promise they will make you legendary.

Can I ask do people use tin foil trays when making at home? I think I am going to bake some tomorrow

I know an amazing mince pie maker, she uses Tesco own brand mince meat but strains the juice off first. Always lovely

Zombie thread.

I make amazing mince pies! I make an orange fleur pastry (Jocelyn Dimbleby recipe) and use a good quality bought mincemeat to which I add orange zest and a couple of tablespoons of sweet sherry. I don't even like mince pies but I do like those. As a bonus... If you have some orange pastry left over (it is very short and quite sweet) you can make some little biscuits and cover them with a glace icing made with orange juice.

When this zombie thread was resurrected, I realised that Love51 asked about the recipe for mincemeat that I use. I WAS going to post it but then realised that that would be posting on a zombie thread😉
I’ll make a new thread next year, just to post the recipe for Love51-though that username is probably changed at this stage, considering that the post was made in 2020🙈