Mince pies, basically rich tarts filled with dried fruits and spices soaked in alcohol, were once a status symbol because only the rich could afford these delicacies. The combination of fruits and spices is often diverse, but raisins, currants, and candied lemon, citron, and/or orange peel are standard. Some old recipes also contain prunes, dates, figs, or candied ginger. Spices are usually cinnamon, cloves, mace, and nutmeg. There is always grated apple or pear and sometimes also lemon or orange juice—mostly from Seville oranges. This recipe is designed for a mince pie mold with 2½-inch cups, but you can also use a standard muffin tin.
Ingredients
For the mincemeat (makes 2lb / 880g):
For the fine shortcrust pastry:
For the egg wash:
Preparation
Step 1
Put all the ingredients for the mincemeat in a bowl and add brandy or rum to cover the fruit. Stir well, then let it rest overnight. The next day, stir again and then divide among sterilized preserving jars.
Step 2
To make the pastry, mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the mixture until it is the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and egg yolk and knead until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough. Alternatively, use a food processor to make the pastry. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Step 3
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease the tart molds with butter and cover the base of each with a small circle of parchment paper. Dust with flour.
Step 4
Briefly knead the pastry until smooth, then pat it into a rectangle and roll it out to a thickness of ⅛ inch. Use a round cutter with a diameter of 2¾ – 3¼ inches to cut out pastry circles. Gently push the pastry rounds into the tart molds. Prick the base or each tart shell three times with a fork.
Step 5
Knead the remaining dough back together and roll it out to cut out the lids—you can choose whichever shape you like, but stars are the most traditional.
Step 6
Divide the 8 ounces of filling among the tarts and press down gently. Place the lids on top and brush with the egg wash.
Step 7
Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm or cold.
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Reviews (34)
Back to TopBeen my favorite pie since I was a little girl more than 65 years ago!
pgrantbutler
Denver,CO
12/22/2023
Pre-pandemic, Coyles Bakeshop (THE best bakery in Seattle IMO) held an annual Christmas treats party and I tried the mincemeat tarts. I am not sure what I was expecting, but WOW, was it good! I think I thought it was going to be meat! I've never tried making it, but now that this has jogged my memory, I think I will!
Lizo
Seattle wa
12/21/2023
The reason people are mentioning suet is that this recipe is linked from an article about mincemeat pie.
Amy K
Morristown, NJ
12/21/2023
I am looking to make these for Christmas this year. I was wondering if I can freeze them after they are baked and reheat them straight from the freezer? I, like everyone else who hosts Christmas dinner, am very busy and am always looking for time savers. If this is an option, my time table just loosened up a bit! Thank you!
MRP Hollister
Nashotah, WI
12/14/2022
I am British and over my 80s never organ meats it is only mixed fruit, spices, brandy and suet we use vegetable suet now the best brand is Atora and available on Amazon. I drain my fruit before putting it in the pastry. We still have them at Christmas as my husband and sons love them. The recipe above is very similar but I don't put prunes in. I have made these, from Regula's cookbook very authentic. Her cookbook, "Oates in the North, Wheat from the South", is the English title but there is an American version, not sure of the title.
Daphne Leonard
Fredericksburg, Virginia
12/11/2022
Having just moved back from the UK, I wanted to make mince pies to share with family at the holidays since they are not as readily available at the supermarket here! I used store bought mincemeat filling doctored up with a bit of brandy and orange zest, and the short crust pastry turned out beautifully. Would highly recommend the pastry recipe, and I'm excited to try the mincemeat recipe next year!
Lizzy T.
Chicago, IL
12/31/2021
Haven't tried it yet, but I Love Mincemeat
David
Longmont,Colorado
12/26/2021
As a Brit that always makes these for the Holiday Season - this is a pretty good recipe - parchment strips help to remove the tarts from the tart pan as the mincemeat filling can leak over and stick... all the fruits are dried and are available in supermarkets these days plus even some mincemeats are already made and available in some supermarkets. Making your own is a labor of love but worth it and it lasts which is the whole point of the Mince Tart - a little bit of fruit in the deep mid-winter.
Anita
12/20/2021
Well I will take this on myself and make it and post about it. Does anyone by any chance know if the "currants" are to be fresh, frozen or dried? I am assuming it's dried, but wanted to check.
MilaCamomila
Ferndale, MI
12/18/2021
I too am waiting for some feedback before delving into a one month project including aging the mincemeat the old fashioned way. I guess for nest year. Maybe by then we'll have some real feedback!
Joan
Los Angeles
12/15/2021
You are not crazy Amanda. Not one of the comments below yours is a review nor is mine unfortunately. I was interested in getting some feed back on the recipe. Apparently five people mistook it for social media so instead of making and reviewing the actual recipe they are just talking about their experiences.
Anonymous
St. Louis, MO
12/13/2021
Am I crazy? The reviews seem to say that these mince pies contain suet. But the recipe does not mention suet.
Amanda
Santa Barbara, CA
12/13/2021
I once had a very snippy British person tell me that nobody had eaten mince pies with meat in them since the Middle Ages. I replied that not only had I eaten such pies, but had made them, too. She basically called me a liar. Apparently there is more meat in American mincemeat pies than one is led to believe! Thank you for confirming that the meat in mincemeat is not imaginary!
AliceK
Pittsburgh, PA
12/13/2021
I was given a cookbook on my 30th birthday (I’m 75 now) called Spices of the World and in it was a minced meat pie recipe; at the time I lived in the bush of Alaska and went about making the pie with the wild fruits of my area and moose meat. To this day I still make minced meat pie, with meat, although not moose as I reside in Arizona. The love of it has never wavered, for me it’s a Christmas tradition. I have not made this particular recipe as I have my own but it looks to be very good.
Linda English
Cornville, AZ
12/13/2021
We used to make real mince meat when I was a kid. I remember using meat in it, organ meat like tongue or sweetbreads (so sue me). Maybe I am misremembering, but I don't think so. First we'd make the mince meat and let it age for a long time--a few weeks. But it could age indefinitely. I read once that a jar of 80 year old mincemeat was discovered in some wine cellar and they ate it. Delicious! We didn't have 80 years, so we gave it a few weeks. We'd set the mincemeat up to age around the Jewish High Holidays in the fall.Then it was ready when the season called for it. We'd make many of these pies and give them as gifts.Some people waited all year for them and others---well, not so much. Evidently it's an acquired taste. The key ingredient that is puzzling me here is the inclusion of meat, not just suet. Somebody tell me. Am I nuts? (Answer: yes, but I'm just talking about the pies). I miss them. So good! Very rich of coarse. We'd serve them with a slice of hard sauce. How a British dish became a tradition in our eastern European Kosher home is a mystery. And will remain one. I haven't made this recipe yet. When I do I'll report back.
Tobie
Berkeley, CA
12/12/2021
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