Mince Pies

Nothing beats a nice, home-made batch of mince pies at Christmas, and the best thing is they're so easy to make. If you don't want to make the pastry yourself then you can buy some ready-made stuff and you're already halfway there! If you're reading this post and feeling inspired then check out the quick and simple recipe below. 

Ingredients
375g plain flour
260g softened butter
125g caster sugar
1 large egg
1 jar of mincemeat 

Method
1. Mix together your flour and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs then add the caster sugar to the mix.

2. Add the egg into the bowl and mix all the ingredients together until it forms together like a dough.

3. Once it's come together, be careful not to over mix, wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. 

4. Whilst it is chilling, pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees. Grease your muffin/cupcake trays and lightly sprinkle your surface with flour. 

5. Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll it out to around 3mm thick. Using your choice of cutters cut out bases and fill your trays. {But don't use all your pastry as you will need some for lids}

6. Scoop your mincemeat into the bases being careful not to overfill- you probably want the to be about half full. {Top tip: If you don't like mince pies, who are you, then you can replace mincemeat with jams and they'll taste just as yummy}

7. Next roll out your remaining pastry to the same thickness as before. If you're wanting completely closed mince pies use a smaller version of the cutter you used for your base. We used a mixture of stars, holly and lids but it's up to you what you want to do!

8. Place them in the oven for 15 minutes/ until they are golden brown then take them out and leave to cool for 5 minutes. 

9. Eat them all whilst they are still warm. Or you could eat one or two then share them out, whatever floats your boat really. 

I hope you enjoyed this quick and simple recipe, I'm off to make myself a cup or tea, pop the television on and tuck into one of my mince pies!