Making mince pies for the first time

[sweetheart]

I've never made mince pies before, whilst I can cook I'm pretty rubbish at baking. Ds has asked if we can make some so can anyone help a move baker with what equipment I'll need, a recipe and maybe and andy hints or tips?

i'd buy the pastry if it is your first time. You can buy it in a block or ready rolled.

Equipment, you'll need a mince pie tin or a flat tray, a pastry brush, a rolling pin, and pastry cutters.. two different sizes if you are using tins, one for the bottom and a slightly smaller one for the top, or any size if you are going for flat ones on a tray

Make sure pastry is rolled quite thinly too. Don't over fill with mincemeat it boils out and makes a bugger of a mess

Brush the underneath of the tops with beaten egg and this will make them stick to the bottoms and then brush over the tops with the egg before they go into the oven

Sprinkle sugar on them as soon as they come out of the oven and get them out of the trays as soon as you can or they may stick.

We all love marzipan and often put a bit of that in on top of the mincemeat.

And good luck! ...oooh and buy squirty cream so you can prise up the lids, and fill them with cream before popping the lid back on at a jaunty angle!!

For mince pies - I'll give ya some tips that work for me (I'm not saying they're right though )

Pastry- I use butter only. Cold out of the fridge, chopped up. And I use Self Raising flour (which is wrong, but I think plain flour is heavy)

Double flour to fat .
I use a food processor then add an egg yolk and water in a bowl (I use a knife) then a tablespoon of caster sugar. Should be a nice, firm lump.
Nothing ruins pastry more than over handling, this way I don't touch it.
Then in the fridge to chill (something to do with gluten relaxing).

Roll out on light floured board roll one way and turn the pastry 90 degrees (make sure you check there's enough flour to stop sticking)

I use a glass to cut, no crinkly scalloped edges. Then all smaller glass for the lid.You can re-roll and cut any trimmings. Depends how deep your bun tin is, I don't like the really deep ones TBH. Too much mincemeat.
The egg white with water to glue the lid down. And don't overfill.

Snip a hole in the lid with a knife. Or do a star shaped top?

Bake (I use 170-180 on my oven) until they're golden (about 10-15 minutes in mine)

Eat them as soon as you can do without burning your face off with ice cream when they are warm.

I don't do 'recipes' TBH , but if I do 12oz flour : 6oz butter + egg yolk + tbsp sugar + water (cold) then I just do as many as I can (about 15+ ). I jar mincemeat.

You can add a chopped apple to the mincemeat too.

Good Luck

I use SR flour for pastry too! .....thought it was just me and my ma and Gordon Ramsey's mil....i read that in a newspaper once! :D He said her mince pies were much better than his!

I have done star lids in the past too...if you have the right sized star cutter you can cut star shapes out of 12 lids which will give you 12 lids with star shaped holes in AND 12 stars to put on the next lot.

so far I have made 10 and three quarter dozen mince pies and it's not even december.

I really like this mincemeat