Mince Pies
From Sainsbury'sA traditional festive treat with a zesty whisky and orange twist all baked with buttery pastry.
Serves: 16
Preparation time: 50 Minutes
Cooking time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients:
300g plain flour
50g icing sugar
150g butter, diced
1 egg yolk
1 x 411g jar mincemeat
Zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon whisky
50g icing sugar
150g butter, diced
1 egg yolk
1 x 411g jar mincemeat
Zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon whisky
Method:
Whizz the flour, icing sugar and butter together in a food processor until they form small crumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon cold water and process briefly to bring the pastry together.
Wrap and chill your pastry in a fridge for 30 minutes.
Once your pasty has chilled roll it out on a floured surface and use a pastry cutter to cut out 16 rounds (roughly 9cm each), these will be the bottom of your mince pies. Press the rounds into bun/cup cake tins. Lightly prick the bases with a fork.
Mix the mincemeat with the orange zest and whisky, and spoon into the pastry cases.
Re-roll the remaining pastry out and cut out lids or other shaped tops for your mince pies.
Skip ahead to step number 6 if you're baking your pies today, or to bake another day follow the next step.
Freeze in the tins for 2 hours or until firm, then transfer to plastic freezer bags, label and seal. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to cook them, preheat the oven to 190ºC, fan 170ºC, gas 5.
Pop the mince pies into your bun/cake tins, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. If you're cooking from frozen they'll need 25 minutes in the oven, or until they're golden. If you're cooking straightaway, cook for 20 minutes or until golden.
Cook's tip: If freezing cooked mince pies; cool and chill before freezing in air tight bags. Then simply thaw and warm through before serving.
