Home-made mince pies
These mince pies are the first to be made from the mincemeat I mentioned before. As it happened, this first batch was made using my friend’s beef and apple mincemeat.
The pastry was a simple shortcrust – two parts flour to one part fat – for the six small pies I made, I used three ounces of flour and added a tablespoon of sugar. I’d bought some silicone reusable muffin cases, and used these; despite the general warnings against baking pastry in silicone flexible moulds (apparently, it can go soggy) I found that after about 30 minutes at 200C, the pies were perfectly crisp. I’d rolled out the pastry thinly and put a generous dollop of mincemeat inside; after they were cooked, I dusted with icing sugar.
They were reasonably tasty, though perhaps not as sweet as I’d like (certainly far less sweet than commercial ones!); for those who might be worried about the filling – no, it didn’t taste of meat! Actually, the over-whelming taste was of orange, which was by no means unpleasant. Next time, I’ll add more sugar, probably to pastry.
For those interested in a recipe for mincemeat with meat, Mrs Beeton’s recipe is as good as any; Mr Google will direct you…