Nothing says Christmas quite like a mince pie. These ones are made with delicious flaky wholemeal pastry flavoured with orange. Once you'e made the pastry, the rest is a cinch. Use your favourite store bought mincemeat or make your own. It's ever so easy.
To make the orange wholemeal shortcrust pastry, place the flour, sugar and orange zest into a large bowl. Cube the butter then rub this into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
250 g wholemeal flour, 125 g unsalted butter - fridge cold, 50 g golden caster sugar, 1 orange - zest and juice
Add the egg and 1 tbsp of the orange juice. Use a flat bladed knife to stir everything together. If the dough isn't clumping, add a bit more orange juice until it does. Be careful not to get a wet dough though. I used 3 tbsp.
1 large egg
Bring the mixture together with your hands to form a ball of dough. Flatten it slightly and place it back in the bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic bag and leave in a cool place to rest for fifteen to thirty minutes.
Alternatively, pulse the dry ingredients and butter together in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then add the egg and orange juice and continue to pulse until the mixture forms a ball of dough.
Turn the oven on to 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6).
On a clean floured surface, roll out the pastry as thin as you can, but no more than a thickness of 4 mm (1/6 inch).
Use pastry cutters to stamp out 14-15 bottoms and 14-15 tops - 8½ cm (3½ inch) bottoms and 6 cm (2½ inch) tops.
Press the bottoms into buttered bun or muffin tins. Don't worry if the pastry doesn't come up to the top.
Fill with mincemeat so that it's just short of the top.
411 g jar of mincemeat
Place the lids on and press the edges together with your fingers or a fork to seal them shut.
Brush the lids with milk then scatter with a little caster sugar or a few flaked almonds.
Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes when the tops should be golden. If not, leave for a few more minutes.
Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Delicious eaten warm with copious amounts of clotted cream.Will store well in an airtight container for a week.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.