This recipe makes approximately 24 mince pies.
Ingredients:
- 220g flour
- 50g margarine
- 50g lard
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of sugar
- Cold water
- 411g jar of mincemeat (I used Tesco Finest)
Method:
- Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Rub the butter and lard into the flour with your fingertips.
- Add the water, a spoonful at a time, until the mixture comes together.
- Lightly flour your work surface, and roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 0.5cm.
- Grease and flour a twelve cup bun tray.*
- Use a round cookie cutter (or a glass/mug) to cut out twenty four circles of pastry, and transfer these to the bun tray.
- Spoon a teaspoon of mincemeat into each of them.
- Use a small, star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out twenty four pastry stars, and press these on top of the pies.
- Bake at 200°C (conventional oven) for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve while still warm.
*I always used to call this a fairy cake tray, but it seems as though most retailers call it a bun tray.
Tips:
- I couldn’t find my star-shaped cutter, so used other festive cookie cutters instead. (Poundland currently have a nice packet of five festive cookie cutters available for the princely sum of – you guessed it – a pound.)
- When it comes to mincemeat, it’s worth paying a wee bit more for a good quality (read: slightly boozy) jar.
