Name: Orange mince pies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 275g flour; 40g sugar; 1 orange, zested; 1 tsp salt; 140g cold butter or margarine; 2 egg yolks; 2 Tbsp water; Mincemeat; 1 egg (optional); Icing sugar

Orange mince pies

17 Dec 2015

by Dinna

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Total Time

35 minutes

Background

The average English person eats 27 mince pies during the Christmas period! Most of these are shop-bought, despite the fact that homemade versions are so much tastier and actually quite easy to create. This orange mince pies recipe is a good example - the shortcrust pastry is easy and can be made well in advance, as it keeps in the fridge for up to a week, so you'll only need a jar of mincemeat and you'll be able to make quick mince pies whenever you feel like it!

Ingredients

275g flour
40g sugar
1 orange, zested
1 tsp salt
140g cold butter or margarine
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp water
Mincemeat
1 egg (optional)
Icing sugar

Instructions

Mix the flour, sugar and salt, then add the orange zest.
Dice the butter, then crumble it with the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs (use your fingers or a blender).
Mix the egg yolks with the water - add this to the crumble and mix carefully until you get a dough, but don't overmix, otherwise it will be too sticky!
Form a big ball from the dough, wrap it in clingfilm and rest for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease a shallow muffin or tartlet tin.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 3 mm thickness. Cut out circles with a pastry cutter (or a mug), large enough to fill the base of the tin holes (about 8 cm diameter).
Gently press these disks into each hole and add 1 or 2 tsp of mincemeat. Don't overfill them!
Reroll the remaining pastry and cut slightly smaller disks to cover the mincemeat - or use a cookie cutter to stamp out star shapes and put these on top of the pies. Dampen the edges with water then press together.
If you'd like the pies to have a shiny glaze, lightly beat an egg, then brush the tops with it
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until lightly golden.
Let them cool in the tin a bit then transfer them to a plate. Dust with icing sugar before serving.