What’s wrong with my minced pies?

[ViaRia01]

Hello Christmas bakers
i attempt minced pies every year but they never turn out looking right.
(it’s shop bought pastry and shop bought mincemeat so they taste ok)

The lids never stick properly to the pastry bases. They also shrink a bit in diameter and rise more that I would expect them to.

its shortcrust pastry.

kitchen is cold and worktops granite, the tray is cold when it goes in the oven and the oven is pre heated.

many pointers for batch # 2?

I think you need to squash the lid to the base - maybe press with a fork, other than the lid being loose I think they look OK, are they cooked well? Pierce the top if you haven't done.

This weekend I'm making mince pies with a shortcrust base and doing a crumble top.
I usually just do a star shape on top, I never cover all of the mince with a full lid and mine come out fine.

Wet the edge of the pastry first before pinching the top onto it. Roll the pastry out a bit thinner.

(It's mince not minced btw. They'd look a lot worse minced)

You need to stop mincing them 😂

It’s mince!

The pastry looks too thick & I don't think you've poked any holes in the top? Like pp, I just put a star shape on top.

the lids need to be slightly smaller than the bases when you cut them out, dampen the edges before you add the lids, also cut a wee cross in the middle with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape through the the hole

Roll pastry a bit thinner
wet the edge of the top before putting the wet side down on to the bottom
really pinch the top and bottom together I was taught to knock them together with a blunt knife. Look for a video to demonstrate
put a hole in the middle of the top to let the steam out

embrace the home made look of a proper mince pie

Thanks everyone. Batch 2 in the oven now with thinner pastry but I’ll have to wait until batch # 3 to try sticking tops on with water. I am pressing as much as I can without going through the pastry with my fingers… so hopefully the water will glue it together nicely. Also a bigger hole in the tops seems to be needed.

The pastry bases look a little too small for the depth of your tins.

I've not made mince pies for years, but when I did, I cut mine out with a fluted biscuit cutter and the edges would come up to the top of the tins. Then cut out star shapes from the rolled up scraps and use that for the tops. That way, you get less pastry and they are not so dry. I used to make shortcrust with Echo block marge and an egg yolk which makes a short, crumbly pastry (I don't know whether block margarine is still available). Once mixed, I would chill the pastry in the fridge in a poly bag for 20 to 25 minutes before rolling out thinly. I think the thinner the pastry the better the mince pies.

If you are using shop-bought pastry and shop-bought mince you might as well just buy ready-made mince pies. And heat them up if you wish

I agree. There really isn't any point making them if you are using shop bought pastry and mincemeat.
Just buy a pack it's less trouble and probably no more expensive unless you need a lot

But you get far more from a block of pastry and a jar of mincemeat than you do buying a box of six. Keep trying OP! As others said you need to use a smaller cutter for the lid and I wet the edge of it with milk. Also snip a cross in the top to let the steam out (or if you want to be fancy use a little star or tree cutter to cut a shape out of the lid)

I think they look great, just like my Nan's, how do they taste?

I'd eat them 😋

With batch 3 , use milk , not water , as it's fatty and will stick better .

I would definitely try making your own mincemeat next year. Much nicer than shop bought - less sweet and fruitier.

Ready made pasty is fine as long as it’s all butter.

To be honest I would ditch the shop bought pastry. It is really quite easy to make. Nancy Birtwistle has a very easy recipe and if you fancy something a little more snazzy there is an Ainsley Harriet mince pie recipe worth googling. Takes about 30 mins tops to prepare and you can keep in the fridge for a few days.

@OnTheRoll thanks for that. I’m doing my best…

I disagree about you might as well buy mince pies, I find the pastry completely different in shop bought ones, the texture is different.

Why don’t you give homemade pastry a try? I did for the first time last year and it’s so easy (and only two ingredients so no crap in it like in most shop bought ones).

8oz plain flour
4oz cold butter chopped up small.

Mix together with your fingers and add the same amount of water as flour in tsp so 8 tsp water to form a dough (may need to add a little depending on consistency). Roll and fill!

@hexsnidgett @JackieQueen thank you. Taste seems fine to me.

the second round didn’t go as well… thinner pastry but all the mincemeat spilled out the cases. The thinner pastry seemed to shrink more too and I the lids definitely didn’t stick well. Next time though I’m trying the milk suggestion so we’ll see how that goes.

@isthewashingdryyet thank you. I honestly don’t mind them looking a bit rustic… but I just want to lids to stay on and the filling to stay inside 🤣

Rubbish

shop bought mince pies are horrible. They use sweet pastry and it melts into a sickly mess in your mess. I hate them.

But use ordinary shortcrust pastry and a decent mince pie filling and it is completely different.

OP
Roll your pastry thinner, probably for base as well, most home made mince pies fall down on being too thick pastry and not enough filling.
I brush edeg of LID (not base, much easier to brush lid) with milk and then put lide on and press into edge of pastry base so it sticks
with a sharp knife put a steam hole in the centre of the lid
brush lid with milk as well and I sprinkle some sugar on.

I also cut with a cutter that has a wavy/crinkly edge, it seems to work better

@hskdnek572 i understand you and others are saying that shortcrust is easy enough…. But it is additional time which if struggle to find. I have a 2yo and 6m old so the extra mess, time, risk it might not go so well doesn’t seem worthwhile right now.

I use stars on mine, never lids and they are usually good.