Our star-topped mince pies with homemade date-and-pecan mincemeat will make your mince pies stand out from the competition.
Or, try making these mince pies with orange and almond pastry to add a certain Spanish flair to your Christmas mince pies.
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Ingredients
For the mincemeat
- 250g pitted dates, finely chopped
- 50g sultanas
- 25g pecans, finely chopped
- 30g suet
- 125g grated bramley apple (1 large apple)
- Zest 1 lemon
- 50ml brandy
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Pinch ground cinnamon
For the pastry
- 160g unsalted butter, softened
- 75g golden caster sugar
- 3 medium free-range egg yolks
- 250g plain flour, plus extra to dust
- Demerara sugar to sprinkle
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Method
- Combine all the mincemeat ingredients in a large bowl.
- For the pastry, put the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in 2 of the egg yolks, one by one, adding 1 tsp water with each. Gently mix in the flour until just combined. Bring the dough together with your hands, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 coin. Stamp out 16 rounds with an 8cm cutter, then use to line a fairy cake tin, pushing them into the moulds with a knuckle or small ball of excess pastry wrapped in cling film. Roll up the remaining pastry, wrap in cling film and chill again.
- Fill each pastry case with about 2 tbsp mincemeat, then chill. Heat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Roll out the chilled pastry to a pound-coin thickness, then stamp out 16 x 6cm star shapes. Top the mince pies with the stars, then brush with the remaining egg yolk and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until crisp and golden. Allow to cool in the tins before gently turning out.
Nutrition
- 331kcals Calories
- 16.5g (9.1g saturated) Fat
- 3.8g Protein
- 40.4g (25g sugars) Carbs
- 2.5g Fibre
- 0.2g Salt
Per pie
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