Super Easy Mince Pie (Merry Christmas Everyone!)

It's that time of the year. It really isn't Christmas without mince pie. I always have a mince pie or two when Christmas is near. It's something I picked up while studying in the UK and it stuck ever since. This year I decided to bake my own. Home made pies always taste great because you get to use as much butter as you want and control what goes into the pies. These mince pies are rich and buttery and filled with boozy fruits. Go ahead, tis the season to indulge.

I used store bought mixed fruits for the "mince meat" (it's called mince meat even though there's no meat in the filling -_-). If you're up for it, make your own mince meat. I think Mary Berry's or David Lebovit's recipes are good. Traditionally, suet ( pork fat) is used to make the filling. If you can't find suet, don't sweat, just use butter. These mince pies are super easy to make.

Super Easy Mince Pies
The mixed fruits which have been soaked overnight in brandy give these pies a rich liqueur taste. Nestled in an all buttery crust, these pies taste great with a hot cup of tea.

Preparation time: 40 minutes + at least 2 days (to soak fruits)
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Utensils: small tart casing and pastry brush

Makes 7 small pies

Level of difficulty: *

Pastry
290g AP flour, sifted
60g icing sugar. sifted
220g butter, cold from the fridge and cut into cubes
1 egg yolk
some egg wash

Mince Meat
350 mixed fruits, soaked in brandy overnight
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
40g butter

Method
1. Combine flour, sugar, butter and egg yolk in a large bowl. Gently knead mixture until dough is formed. Wrap dough in a plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours. Don't attempt to use dough immediately as it will not hold up.

2. Place mixed fruits and brandy in a medium bowl with brandy barely covering top of fruits and leave to soak overnight. When you come back to this the next day, the fruits would have soaked up all the goodness of the brandy and are plump and boozy. Place the fruits in a medium pot and cook over low heat. Add the cinnamon, ginger and butter and cook until mixture thickens. The liquid from the fruits should be thick and sticky. Remove from heat and allow to cool. If the brandy has evaporated while cooking, that's alright. If you want a super rich alcoholic taste, soak the cooked fruits in a little more brandy. Keep covered in room temperature overnight.

3. Remove the dough about 30 minutes before using. Pinch out enough dough and press into small tart casings. Make the covers. Pinch 30g of dough and roll it into balls and flatten to make discs slightly larger than the top of the tart casing. Fill the empty pie casings generously with the mixed fruits. Cover the pies with the dough discs and trim off the sides. Pinch the edges of the pies with your fingers or use a fork to make a pattern. Pierce holes on the covers to release hot air when baking. Roll out the excess dough and cut out stars. Egg wash the top and stick a star on top of each pie. Brush the top of the pies, going over the stars and sides of the pies with egg wash. Place pies in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 170C. Bake pies in the middle rack for 45 minutes or until edges and egg washed parts are golden brown.

5. Dust some icing sugar or top with a dollop of whipped cream to serve.

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Be warned, the pastry is extremely crumbly and buttery and you want to eat this on a plate.

The mince meat can be made weeks in advance for a deeper and more intense liqueur taste. These buttery and boozy Christmas delights are sure to please grown up guests. To make child-friendly mince pies, soak the fruits in orange juice instead.

Merry Christmas & Happy baking! xx