By Kasia Ozog and Scoffed Cooking School
Published: Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Mince pies are synonymous with Christmas and are a classic addition to lunch and dinner tables during the festive season.
Unlike the name suggests they don’t contain meat anymore, but rather are filled with dried fruits and spices.
Traditionally, they were oblong shaped to resemble the manger Jesus was born in, with the star that sits atop representing the star which guided the Three Wise Men to the stable. It was also custom to use nutmeg, clove and cinnamon to symbolise the Three Wise Men.
Don’t worry if you scoff a few too many over Christmas. It’s said that eating a mince pie for each of the 12 Days of Christmas will bring 12 months of happiness.
Scoffed Cooking School has kindly supplied a delicious mince pie recipe that you can make to serve friends and family, or enjoy on your own, this Christmas.
Scoffed’s Katie Bae says mince pies are the “perfect Christmas dish”.
“They’ve got the warmth of cinnamon, freshness from citrus zest and juice, all absorbed into the sweet, dried fruits,” Katie says.
“They have the right balance of sweetness and sourness. It’s easy and fun to make and decorate with kids or families.”
Prep Time: 15mins
Cook Time: 30mins
Makes: 30 pies
Equipment
- Medium-sized bowl
- Baking tray and paper
- Large saucepan
- Food processor or potato masher
- Knife and chopping board
- Frying pan
- Wooden spoon
- Microplane grater
- Pastry brush and tongs
Filling ingredients
- 360g (2 cups) dried mixed fruit
- 200g (1 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
- 50g (1/3 cup) slivered almonds, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, quartered, cored, coarsely grated
- 40g butter, melted
- 2 tbsp orange juice and the rind of four oranges
- 3 tsp finely grated lemon rind
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 egg, lightly whisked
- White sugar, to dust
Pastry ingredients
- 300g (2 cups) plain flour
- 70g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
- 160g chilled butter, chopped
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp iced water
Method
- Finely chop half the mixed fruit and place in a bowl.
- Add the brown sugar, slivered almond (if using), apple, butter, orange juice, lemon rind, lemon juice, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg and the remaining mixed fruit. Stir until well combined.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside, ideally overnight, stirring occasionally, to macerate. Transfer the fruit mixture to a fine sieve over a bowl and stir to remove excess liquid.
- To make the pastry, place the flour, sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and water, and process until the mixture just starts to come together.
- Turn onto a clean work surface. Shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Place in the fridge for 20 minutes to rest. Preheat oven to 180C. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until 5mm thick.
- Use an 8.5cm-diameter round pastry cutter to cut 20 discs from the pastry.
- Use a 5cm-diameter star-shaped pastry cutter to cut 20 stars from the remaining pastry.
- Line twenty 80ml (1/3 cup) capacity muffin pans with pastry discs and divide the fruit mince among the pastry cases.
- Top with pastry stars. Brush the stars lightly with the egg and sprinkle with white sugar.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden. Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
