The Scoop

Mince Pies
It's not Christmas if you don't have at least one mince pie... This festive recipe is delicious and has the optional addition of brandy if you fancy it!
Serves: 12
Total cooking time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
Ingredients
200g Unsalted butter
300g Plain flour
100g Caster sugar
2 Eggs
600g Mincemeat
50ml Brandy (optional)

Method
- Place the butter and flour in a bowl and carefully rub together, add 1 of the eggs and the sugar and fold to create a dough
- Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for 10-15mins
- Preheat your oven to 200°C / Gas mark 6 / 180°C fan
- Tip the mincemeat into a bowl and give it a good mix so the juices are spread evenly, if you’re using brandy add this in as well and stir together
- Lightly flour a non-stick surface and roll out the pastry to a thickness of 4mm, our Adjustable Rolling Pin will help you get this right
- Cut 12 circles out of the pastry using a large round cutter (about 10cm wide) and place gently into a muffin tray
- Add a heaped teaspoon of the mincemeat mix to each pie, don’t overdo it otherwise they might explode
- Re-roll the remaining pastry to 4mm thick and cut another 12 circles for the lids using a smaller cutter (around 7cm wide)
- Place the lids on to the pies and gently press down around the edges to seal them tightly
- Beat the remaining egg and use it to glaze the top of the pies, our Glaze pastry brush is perfect if you want to avoid mess
- Carefully make a small cut in the top of each pie then bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown
- Leave to cool and enjoy!