Mince Pie Magic

There isn't much better at this time of year than homemade mince pies.  Everyone has their different approach to the mince pie: sweet pastry, puff pastry, Filo pastry parcels, lid vs no lid.

I'm a fan of everything but I do think that as you can quite easily eat several of the tasty morsels at one time sometimes a smaller idea of a lid is good.

I stick to ready made mince meat as a base and then add to it as I go.  My mince meat was a Lidl choice and I added orange zest, orange juice, finely chopped cooking apple and glace cherries.

Ingredients:

250g self raising flour

110g butter

1 egg

Pinch of salt

Method:

• Heat oven to 160C.
• Sieve flour and salt into a metal bowl.
• Rub in the butter.
• Mix the egg in a cup, then add to the flour and butter mix.
• Bring together with a metal spatula, adding enough cold water to bring together.
• Kneed briefly to bring together, then place in the fridge for 20 mins.
• Remove from the fridge, roll out, and using a round cutter, cut out the base, and place in a muffin tin.
• Fill each base with a teaspoon mincemeat.
• Cut small stars with the remaining pastry and place on the mincemeat.
• Glaze with an egg.
• Cook in the oven for 20mins.