Traditional Mince Pie

A hearty, delicious dish to get you through the remainder of winter! Thanks to Daring Gourmet for the recipe!

Ingredients

Mince pie is comprised of a pie shell filled with a mixture of fruits, spices, and suet. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Homemade pie crust (see below)

• Beef steak (yes, beef steak. Check out my article about REAL authentic mincemeat. It’s a game changer!)

• Raisins and golden raisins

• Dried currants (which actually aren’t currants at all but rather zante raisins)

• Apple

• Candied orange peel and candied lemon peel (note: while not traditional you can also add some candied ginger if you like)

• Almonds

• Lemon

• Beef suet

• Spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, mace, ginger, coriander

• Brandy and dark rum

Instructions

Make the pastry crust:

Put the flour and salt in the bowl of the food processor and pulse a few times. Add the butter and lard (or all butter if preferred) and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Gradually add in the ice cold water and pulse a few times after each addition. The texture should be such that when you take some of the mixture and pinch it between your fingers it should come together to form a dough. Test it for doneness after each addition of the ice water, being careful not to add too much water or your crust will be tough and it won’t be flaky.

Transfer the crumbly pastry dough to a lightly floured work surface and use floured hands to fold the dough into itself until

Form the dough into a ball, tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the fridge for at least 3 hours before using, or for up to 5 days. This dough can also be frozen (flatten into one or two discs, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and put it in a ziplock freezer bag).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease the mini tart tins or a standard 12-cup muffin tin.

Roll 2/3 of the pie crust out onto a floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut circles out of the pie crust to fit into the tins. Scoop some of the mincemeat into each pie crust.

IF MAKING A FULL SIZE PIE: Preheat to 375 F and bake it for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for another 30 minutes or so.

Roll out the remaining pie crust to the same thickness and cut out circles for lids, star shapes, or lattices (whichever you prefer).

If cutting out circles/lids to fully cover each pie cut a small slit on the top of each pie crust to let hot air escape.

Lightly brush the tops with milk or an egg wash. Bake the pies for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Carefully remove them from the muffin or tart tins, transfer them to a wire rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Mince pies are best served gently warmed. They can be eaten with your hands or with a spoon if served with cream or even ice cream if you like.

Another traditional topping is Hard Sauce, known as Brandy Butter outside the U.S. Spread or place a dollop of brandy butter over the hot mincemeat pie and let it melt.

Depending on the size of your tart or muffin tins, this will make about 18 mince pies.