When you think of Christmas, you think of Mince Pies, right? Okay, you may also think of presents, food, coldness, santa etc, but I'm sure Mince Pies are up there!
The older I've got, the more people I have come across who don't actually like Mince Pies. LIKE WHAT?!? They're literally the best snack ever. A bite size pie for god sake, how can you not like that?!
So anyway, I thought for today's post, I'll show you all how to make the perfect Mince Pies. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, a video on how to make these is on it's way.
You're going to need:
1 Pack of Shortcrust Pastry
1 Jar of Mince Meat
Flour (for dusting work surfaces)
2 Baking trays (kind of like muffin trays)
A rolling pin
Cutters
So to start off with, you need to make sure your pastry is at room temperate, your oven is pre heated at Gas Mark 5 (I only have a gas oven, I don't know the other things), dust your surface with flour and that you cut your pastry in half.
Roll the first half of the pastry completely flat, to about the thickness of a 50p coin. Remember, you need to it to make 20 Mince Pies.
Once your pastry has been rolled to perfection, you then need to cut out the bottoms of the Mince Pies. Once you've cut out all 20 bottoms, you then need to place them into the baking trays. As demonstrated above.
Once you've filled your baking tray, it's time to add the Mince Meat. Now this task is quite a nerve wracking one. You have 1 jar of Mince Meat and you have to make sure you have enough to fill all 20 pies. Ooo the pressure!
The best way to do it, is to simply use a teaspoon and allocate 1 Teaspoon per pie. That way, you have consistency in your pies and you'll actually have enough to fill every one.
It's now time to roll the second half of your pastry, for the topping. Some people like to use the same cutter on the bottom as the one on the top, but I actually like to use this star cutter. I think it gives the Mince pies a little something different. I like my pies to stand out in the crowd.
So cut your toppings, place them on each pie, slightly pressing down on the edges to secure.
THEN BAKE!
Cook the Mince Pies on Gas Mark 5 for about 25-30 mins. Constantly swapping the trays between top and bottom shelf to allow for an even bake. Don't forget to keep checking on them. There is nothing worse than a burnt Mince Pie.
Once they are golden brown and the Mince Meat has gone slightly chewy on the top, you know they're ready.
Take them out of the baking tray straight away and place on a cooling rack... to cool. (obviously)
Then that's it, you're done! Very quick, simple and delicious Mince Pies.
| Harrison |
