Best Mince Pies Ever
I can't describe how much nicer these are than shop-bought mince pies. The pastry is almost like shortbread, none of that doughy horrible stuff. If you can't be bothered to make your own mincemeat, just use a really good quality shop-bought one. The one I use here has no beef suet, so it suitable for vegetarians. A quick tip for forming the cases: I find that if I mould them straight into the tin, it's quite tricky to remove them once cooked, so I line the tin with clingfilm, make the cases then pull up the film to remove the cases and pop them back in the holes.
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DIRECTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 200°C.
- Rub together the flour and butter (or whizz up in a food processor).
- Add the sugar and salt and mix thoroughly.
- Knead the mixture together. Don't add any water. You'll think there's no way it's ever going to stick into a ball, but it will after a few minutes of kneading.
- Take walnut-sized balls of the pastry and push them into the holes of a 12-cake cupcake tin, forming them into case shapes.
- Fill each with some of the mincemeat.
- Form lids for each pie from a slightly smaller ball of dough, patted out flat to fit. Push the edges onto the sides of the case - they will stick together without the need for any egg or milk.
- At this point, you can freeze the pies until needed.
- Brush the tops with the beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
- Serve hot or cold, dusted with icing sugar, with lashings of brandy butter.
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