Mince pies shortcrust pastry

Name: Mince pies shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Makes 315g (enough for 12 mince pies)
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 170g plain flour; 100g cold unsalted butter; 1 tbsp caster sugar; 1 large free-range egg yolk

Portion size: Makes 315g (enough for 12 mince pies)
Takes 20 minutes to make, plus 10 minutes to chill
Difficulty: easy

Delicious. food team

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One bite of a home-made shortcrust pastry mince pie and you’ll never want to buy them again.

Now you’ve nailed the pastry, put it to good use with one of our mince pie recipes including date and apple, brownie and frangipane versions.

Or, try our quick mincemeat filling, or just use that shop-bought filling for speed.

Before you start

Making sure the butter is cold is important here – if it’s softened at room temperature you’ll end up with a greasy, smooth base to your pastry, which will turn tough when it’s baked. Keeping the mixture crumble-like (or like wet sand) is what gives the pastry that buttery, crumbly texture we all love.

Using a palette or table knife to quickly mix the egg and water into the pastry ensures you don’t overwork the dough. If you are too heavy-handed with it, the gluten in the flour strengthens, turning your pastry chewy.

Chilling pastry dough between making and rolling it out is important – it allows the gluten to relax, which will help prevent shrinkage as it bakes. Give it at least 10 minutes, but an ideal is usually 2 hours (or even overnight).

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Ingredients

170g plain flour
100g cold unsalted butter
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 large free-range egg yolk

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Method

Sift 170g plain flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Rub in 100g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes, with your fingers until you have a crumble-like mixture.
Stir in 1 tbsp caster sugar, then add 1 large free-range egg yolk and mix quickly with a palette knife. Add 1-2 tbsp cold water, a little at a time, mixing with the knife until the mixture is drawn together into a dough.
Press into a ball, then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 10 minutes.
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Find out how to make a quick mincemeat filling here.

Quick wins & tips

Watch how to make our shortcrust pastry mince pies here:

For flavoured pastry, try adding ground almonds, cinnamon, citrus zest and nutmeg to your pastry. For the really adventurous, swap a quarter of the butter for goose fat for a rich, flaky pastry.