Preparation for Christmas begins!

 

I know it may seem strange to begin posting recipes for christmas in november,but i have found preparation is the key !  Plus it gives you chance to practice and scoff a few mince pies in the process ! You can also always freeze the pre prepared pies and forget about them until december 24th when you leave one by the fire for santa!

Remember Mincemeat is better if left to mature for a while anyway so for even yummier mince pies have your mince meat prepared well in advance This will yield about 3 dozen pies. 1 lb Self raising Flour 8 oz Trex 4 oz caster sugar 1 egg little water

Mincemeat *

Rub Trex  into flour and sugar until resembling fine breadcrumbs. Lightly beat the egg, and mix in with a knife adding a little water. Resulting paste should be smooth and soft and very pliable. No need to rest in fridge. Roll out thinly, you will need plenty of flour as the pastry is quite sticky – this is correct as it will ‘thicken’ slightly when cooking. Line your mince pie tins with the pastry (greased), placing a spoonful of mince into each,don’t overly fill your spoon as the mince will expand in the oven and you will end up with exploding pies and a messy oven !place on pastry tops and seal gently with finger tips (no added liquid necessary). Be careful, this pastry is Rather soft to work with. Cook at appox 180/90c until lightly golden. (Approx. 20 – 25 mins,this will depend on your oven fan assisted oven times do vary and of course adjust cooking times as you see fit). Leave pies in tins to cool for a few minutes Then tip onto a wire rack  - tap the bottoms of each pie and they should  slip out fairly easily if you greased the tin well enough too much or too little grease is killer to the pies. (Don’t attempt to hook out with a knife – they will break!) When cooled turn them the correct way up and serve or store as you require. Sprinkle with a little  icing sugar if preferred or maybe cinnamon or whatever you prefer. I find these to be great slightly heated served with a little brandy cream The pasty  for the pies will be crisp, yet crumbly –  it keeps and freezes exceptionally well

Recipe to follow *