#BigBlogmasproject2014 #9 Easy Mince Pie Recipe

Mince pies, you either love them or hate them, personally I love them they're the perfect festive treat. I can't help but feel homemade mince pies taste better, so today I thought I'd share an easy simple recipe. There's probably thousands on the web but I find this one is great for those who don't fancy anything too fiddly or technical -

What you'll need 

Golden Caster Sugar 

Butter 

1 Small Egg 

Plain Flour 

Mincemeat

Icing Sugar (for covering burnt bits decoration)

1. Let's start with the pastry. You'll be happy to know that this is a 'no roll' recipe, it's great for people who are a little worried about making pastry. Rub 225g/7oz into 350g/12oz plain flour (rub as though you are making shortbread pastry.) Now this is the bit you'll spend lots of time on, be careful not to overdo this step as it can make your pastry a little too flaky/difficult to work with. Once combined add 100g/3oz of golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt (optional) and mix away. Now, begin to knead the dough (no water required.)  At this point you should have something that resembles the picture below. I personally prefer to make two balls (haha) one for the pie, one for the lids but we'll get onto this later. 

2. Preheat your oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Take a tiny amount of butter and grease your tin. A tin similar to the one here will work perfectly fine. Whatever you do don't use a muffin tin, things won't work out for the best, with this pastry it's just not thick enough in texture for deep filled mince pies. 

3. Press a walnut size of pastry into each hole. Spoon 1 teaspoon of mincemeat onto the pastry, make sure to smooth over. The key at this stage is not to overfill, trust me I've done this before …it wasn't pretty (mincemeat burnt/exploded in the pastry.)

4. Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies. Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal. 

5. Beat 1 small egg and brush the tops of the pies. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove. To serve, lightly dust with icing sugar. Now, if you didn't listen to step 3 here is your chance to rectify (icing sugar solves all!) Your mince pies will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.