With flaky pastry and rich mincemeat filling, these shortcrust pastry mince pies are a delicious addition to any Christmas party.
Whether you use homemade fruit mince or store bought mincemeat, encasing the juicy spiced fruit in crispy flaky homemade shortcrust pastry is always a festive crowd pleaser – in our family it isn’t Christmas without a fruit mince pie!
Jump to:
Why we love this recipe
- You cannot beat the taste of a homemade mince pie fresh from the oven, sprinkled with icing sugar and still slightly warm.
- These shortcrust mince pies can be prepared and frozen making them so useful for entertaining.
- I use homemade shortcrust pastry for mince pies, but you can use store bought shortcrust pastry for an even easier treat.
Newsletter
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient quantities.
- Mincemeat – fruit mince. You can use homemade mince meat or store bought.
- Plain flour – all purpose flour.
- Butter – cold butter. I prefer to use unsalted butter but you can use salted butter if you prefer.
- Egg yolk – I use the egg white to seal the pastry and brush on top of the mince pies to avoid food waste but you can use the egg white to make amaretti biscuits or these Italian ricciarelli biscuits.
- Cold water – make sure the water is very cold.
- Caster sugar – this fine sugar gives the mince pies a lovely crunchy top. This is optional.
How to make this mince pie recipe
Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for the full recipe.
- Make the shortcrust pastry: Rub the cubes of butter into the flour lightly with your finger tips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- In a small bowl whisk the egg yolk with the cold water. Pour the egg mixture into the flour and stir with a blunt knife like a butter knife, then use your hands to bring the pastry together. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in cling film, and chill in the fridge.
- Roll the dough out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured board. Using a round cookie cutter, cut circles out of the dough, and use them to line a muffin tray.
- Re-roll the pastry as needed. Take the smaller cutter and cut circles out of the pastry for the lids.
- Place teaspoons of the mincemeat / fruit mince in the pastry cups, then brush the edges of the underside of your smaller circles with the egg white (or water).
- Place the circle on top and gently press the edges to seal.
- Brush the tops of the mince pies with egg whites, sprinkle with caster sugar, cut a slit in the centre of the top of each mince pie with a sharp knife and then place in a preheated oven to bake.
- Bake until the pastry is golden brown.
My recipe tips
- Work the pastry lightly – if you overwork the pastry it will become tough.
- You will need two round cookie cutters once larger than the other. If you don’t have the correct size you can use a cup or drinking glass to cut out the pastry circles.
- If you want to add extra flavour to your mincemeat: add a little extra orange zest and juice or lemon zest, a spoonful of brandy, or a pinch more ground cinnamon or nutmeg.
- You can make the pastry in a food processor if you prefer, using the pulse mode.
FAQ
Why are my mince pies hard?
If the mince pie pastry is tough and hard, it can be because the pastry dough was handled too much, or too much liquid was added.
Why did my mince pies stick in the tin?
You can grease the tins lightly with butter, and make sure that you don’t over fill the mince pies with mince meat, as this can boil over the tops and cause the mince pies to stick in the tin.
What nationality are mince pies?
Mince pies are thought to have originated in England, however they are now enjoyed in other countries including Australia and New Zealand.
Serving Ideas
- Serve warm with a drizzle of cream or custard, or a spoonful of brandy butter.
Make ahead/storage
- Baked shortcrust pastry mince pies can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week.
- Freezing fruit mince pies: you can freeze this mince pies unbaked or baked.
- Unbaked – make the mince pies as per the recipe. Instead of putting them in the oven, place in the freezer. Cook from frozen adding 5 minutes on to the cooking time.
- Baked – cool the mince pies completely, then place in a freezer safe container with sheets of kitchen paper towel inbetween them. Take out as many as you need and defrost in the fridge overnight. Reheat in a moderate oven (180˚C / 356˚F until piping hot.)
Ideas for leftover mince pies
- Crumble them up and add to ice cream – I use this no churn ice cream base.
- Crumble them up and top stewed apples for an apple crumble.
- Chop them up and make into chocolate tiffin instead of digestive biscuits.
Why not try…
You may also like these other easy Christmas recipes:
Shortcrust Pastry Mince Pies
Author: Robyn
With crisp, flaky pastry and juicy fruit mince filling, this easy mince pie recipe is the perfect Christmas bake!
Equipment
- 12 hole muffin tin tray
Ingredients
- 1 Jar mincemeat – or ½ homemade fruit mince
- 250g (1 ⅔ c) plain flour
- 125g (½ c) cold butter cubed
- 1 egg yolk
- 50ml cold water
- egg white, for glaze
- 1-2 Tablespoons caster sugar optional
- icing sugar / confectioners sugar for dusting
Instructions
Make the pastry
- Rub the butter in to the flour lightly with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the cold water.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture into the flour, and mix using a blunt knife or butter knife.
- Once the pastry has come together, form in to a disc shape and then wrap well with clingflim and place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.
Make the mince pies
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ fan / 200℃ / 392℉ convection / 428℉.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry with a rolling pin to a thickness of 3 mm / 0.1 inch.
- Cut 12 rounds out using a 9cm / 3½ Inch cutter, re-rolling the pastry.
- Press the circles into the tin.
- Place 1-2 teaspoons of mince meat / fruit mince into each pastry shell.
- Roll out the rest of the pastry and cut out 12 smaller circles using a 7cm / 2¾ Inch round cutter.
- Brush egg white over the edges of the smaller circle and then turn it over so the egg white is on the bottom of the pastry and cover the fruit mince, lightly pressing down around the edges to seal.
- Repeat with all 12 mince pies.
- Brush the tops of the pastry with egg white and sprinkle with a little caster sugar, using a sharp knife cut two holes in the top (this is to let the steam out) then place in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Leave to cool in the tin.
- Dust with icing sugar to serve.
Video
Notes
Mincemeat – fruit mince. You can use homemade mince meat or store bought.
Plain flour – all purpose flour.
Butter – cold butter. I prefer to use unsalted butter but you can use salted butter if you prefer.
Egg yolk – I use the egg white to seal the pastry and brush on top of the mince pies to avoid food waste but you can use the egg white to make amaretti biscuits or these Italian ricciarelli biscuits.
Cold water – make sure the water is very cold.
Caster sugar – this fine sugar gives the mince pies a lovely crunchy top. This is optional.
Work the pastry lightly – if you overwork the pastry it will become tough.
You will need two round cookie cutters once larger than the other. If you don’t have the correct size you can use a cup or drinking glass to cut out the pastry circles.
If you want to add extra flavour to your mincemeat: add a little extra orange zest and juice or lemon zest, a spoonful of brandy, or a pinch more ground cinnamon or nutmeg.
You can make the pastry in a food processor if you prefer, using the pulse mode.
Nutrition
Calories: 231kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 72mgPotassium: 31mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 282IUCalcium: 8mgIron: 1mg
HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?
I’d love to see your creation!
Tag me! #atmrsjoneskitchen
Tag me! @atmrsjoneskitchen
Or just leave a comment below!
Let me know your thoughts!