There are thousands of mince pie recipes on the internet but these deep-filled mince pies are my new favourite. I like a good fruit mince-to-pastry ratio and with these, I have achieved this. Because the pastry is very much like shortbread having it thick is so delicious. They are made by hand with no pastry rolling required.
If I’m not making my favourite apple and mince pie crumble bars which is the easiest way to make a mince pie-type treat, I will be wanting to make these. That recipe also uses a shortbread pastry base and a foolproof.
Once you start making your own mince pies with fruit mince filling you will struggle to go back to buying store-bought. Last week I made the best Christmas fruit mince with cherries and used that to fill these pies.
How to make deep-filled Christmas mince pies
Lightly spray the cupcake pan with non-stick baking spray. I used a non-stick pan too.
The buttery shortbread-like pastry for these mince pies is quite crumbly so there is no need to roll it out. You make them by pressing pieces of the dough into the base and up the sides of the tin with your fingers.
You can make them as thick as you like. I made 10 mince pies with this quantity of pastry, but you could make them a little thinner and get 12.
I used a 12 whole cupcake pan that is slightly shallower than a standard muffin tin. If you are using a muffin tin, don’t fill them right to the top unless you want to make very big mince pies. I guess nothing wrong with that either.
If you are worried about dividing the dough, after making about 8, make the mince pies one at a time so you know you have enough dough.
Top each mince pie with the pastry crumbled over the top, similar to an apple pie. When it bakes it forms a crispy top and looks very pretty. Ensure that the crumble properly covers the filling (it doesn’t matter if the odd gap appears though).
Bake the pies as long as required and ensure they are golden brown. Oven temperatures differ so they may need a little longer.
Can you freeze mince pies?
You can freeze mince pies, either unbaked or when they are baked.
To freeze unbaked mince pies, simply place the unbaked mince pies that are in the tray into the freezer. Once they are frozen, gently lift them out and put them in a sealed bag and then back into the freezer.
It is better to freeze unbaked mince pies and bake them off fresh when you want to eat them. Take the frozen mince pies out of the freezer and place them in the greased molds. Bring to room temperature and then bake as per the recipe instructions.
To freeze baked mince pies, remove them from the freezer, allow them to thaw, and then reheat them in a medium oven, air fryer, or microwave until warm.
Mince pies made with phyllo pastry are not suitable for freezing.
This recipe makes 10 – 12 deep mince pies and more if you are using a shallow pan.
This recipe is adapted from the BBC Goodfood Unbelievably easy mince pies. I have added orange zest to the pastry made them deep filled and created a crumble topping. You can of course make smaller/shallower mince pies if you want to.
I have used my best Christmas fruit mince with cherries which I posted last week (see the link above)
25Preheat the oven to180C/350 Fan forced or 200C/400F conventional.
To make the pastry, mix the flour, caster sugar, and lemon zest until well combined.
Add the cubed butter and using your hands work it into the flour to form a crumb.
Keep pressing the pastry until its starts to form a ball. You will think that it is too crumbly but it will start to come together. It is like a shortbread dough.
Lightly spray a shallower 12-hole non-stick cupcake tin with baking spray. Alternatively, use a shallower muffin tin. If you are using a regular muffin tin, try not to fill it all the way to the top or make 10 bigger mince pies.
Pinch off a small ball of dough and press it into the cupcake tin. Don’t make the base too thick and press it around the sides.
Fill each case with a dessert spoon of Christmas fruit mince.
Crumble the remaining pastry with the leftover crumbled dough ensuring you cover all the fruit. The pastry will bake to form a more solid topping.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. The time it takes will vary on your oven but ensure the tops are golden before you remove them.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove to a wire rack to cool further.
Lightly dust with icing or caster sugar to serve.
Store in an airtight container. These mince pies should keep for at least a week if they can last that long.
Notes
Make smaller/shallower mince pies if you prefer. Simply press out the dough to line your mold and fill accordingly.
You can make a more solid pastry topping by pressing out a round disc the size of the top of the mince pie
A mince pie (also mincemeat pie in North America, and fruit mince pie in Australia and New Zealand) is a sweet pie of English origin filled with mincemeat, being a mixture of fruit, spices and suet. The pies are traditionally served during the Christmas season in much of the English-speaking world.
Mince pies were first served in the early middle ages, and the pies were quite sizeable, filled with a mixture of finely minced meat, chopped up fruit and a preserving liquid. Mincemeat originally came about as a good way of preserving meat, without salting, curing, smoking or drying it.
English tradition demands that the mince meat mixture should only be stirred in a clockwise direction. To stir it anticlockwise is to bring bad luck for the coming year. Another English custom is for all the family to take a turn in stirring the mincemeat mixture whilst making a wish.
Ingredients included dried fruits like raisins prunes and figs, lamb or mutton (representing the shepherds) and spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg (for the Wise Men). By late Victorian England, mince pies ceased to contain meat and had all fruit fillings (with suet).
Mincemeat isn't difficult to make, but it has a lot of ingredients, which can make it expensive to produce in small batches, and it requires at least a day's advance planning to let the ingredients sit.
It has been claimed that eating the snack is illegal in England if done so on Christmas Day. The tradition comes from the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, when mince pies were banned at Christmas, along with other tasty treats. Cromwell wanted to tackle gluttony in England.
This pie is a traditional dessert served during the holiday season. It is made with pumpkin puree, spices, and a flaky crust, and is a popular favorite for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pumpkin Pie is a traditional American dessert that is commonly enjoyed during the fall and winter seasons.
The mince pies will keep well for at least 1 week, stored in an airtight container at room temperature. The pastry will soften a little in that time, but they'll still taste glorious. Switch out the dried fruit for what you like best – just keep the volume the same.
By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.
Why do we eat mince pies at Christmas? Mince pies were originally made to celebrate Jesus. They were oblong in shape to represent the manger that Jesus slept in as a baby and have a 'pastry baby Jesus' carved into the pastry. Traditionally one mince pie is eaten for the Twelve days of Christmas.
Heat a pile of mincemeat in a pan with sugar, orange and lemon juice, orange peel, half a cinnamon stick and brandy, wait for it to thicken and then stir in some whipping cream.
Fill each pie level with mincemeat, don't overfill as the pies have a tendency to leak and glue themselves to the tins if you do. Dip your finger in the egg and run around the edge of each mince pie and top with a lid, pressing gently together to seal.
They are two completely different kinds of pies. Mince pie, also known as mincemeat pie, is made of fruits and contains no meat. It is sweet. A meat pie is savory or spicy and is usually a fried pie, filled with ground meat and onions, spices like cumin, chili peppers, etc.
Mince pies have been eaten as part of a traditional British Christmas since at least the 16th century. Then they were made of a spiced, sweet minced meat mixture (often lamb), but they are now commonly made with sweet mincemeat, a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, spices, and brandy.
The "mince" in mincemeat comes from the Middle English mincen, and the Old French mincier both traceable to the Vulgar Latin minutiare, meaning chop finely. The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term minced meat, meaning finely chopped meat. Meat was also a term for food in general, not only animal flesh.
The mince pie was originally filled with meat but it's believed that it wasn't until the late Victorian period and the early 20th century that mince pies shifted to a pie made from fruit fillings. Is it still illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas day?
By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.
Introduction: My name is Edwin Metz, I am a fair, energetic, helpful, brave, outstanding, nice, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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