It’s impossible to escape them at this time of year but if there’s one person who will never turn them down it’s Papa! He’ll eat mince pies of any description but his most favourite kind are puff pastry mince pies. And because I’m the most amazing daughter in the world (& the most modest too!) I’m more than happy to indulge him with a batch or two.
Easily put together with some easy-roll puff pastry and a jar of mincemeat, these little mouthfuls of Christmas can be jazzed up with the addition of cranberries, apple, almonds, or whatever extras take your fancy. Or if you have last minute guests and not a lot of time, even the most basic of Puff Pastry Mince Pies are sure to please.
Love this? Try this:
Puff Pastry Mince Pies
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Pack of Ready Roll Puff Pastry usually 375g
- 200 g Mincemeat
- 1 Apple small
- Handful Dried Cranberries
- 1 Free-range Egg
- Caster or Icing Sugar for dusting
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 200°c (180°c for fan assisted ovens or Gas Mark 5) and grease a baking tray with some butter/margarine..
- First prep your mince meat - mincemeat straight from the jar is fine but adding some apple and cranberries gives your mince pies a little more interest. Peel, core and chop your apple into 1cm cubes and mix into the mincemeat. Add a handful of cranberries also.
- Roll out your Puff Pastry and cut around twelve small circle of pastry (I use a 48mm diameter cutter) and place onto your pre-greased baking tray.
- Spoon a heaped teaspoon of your mincemeat onto each circle, ensuring you hand some apple in each.
- In the remaining puff pastry, cut the same number of small circle but bigger (I use a 58mm diameter cutter).
- Beat your egg and use as an egg wash around each mincemeat-topped circle and place the larger circles on top, gently pressing over with your finger to seal the mincemeat in.
- Using your smaller cutter, gently press over the pastry to bring he mincemeat into place under the pastry, then gently press down the edges with a fork to ensure none of the mincemeat can escape.
- Use the remaining egg wash to coat the tops of your mince pies and pierce a few small holes in the top of each.
- Bake in your pre-heated oven for around 15-20 minutes until puffed up and golden.
- Once cool enough to touch, move to a wire rack and when completely cool, dust with a little sugar to finish (caster or icing sugar is fine, whatever your preference).
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
4 responses
They were quick and delicious. My only change to the recipe was i added 1/3 cup of ground almonds and a teaspoon of almond essence. The smell in the house was awesome.
The recipe does not state how thin or thick the pastry should be okay it’s probably common knowledge to some people but to a first timer it needs to be said .
It’s ready roll pastry…so already the right thickness.
1-word (scrumptious)