Thereβs nothing like making your own mince pies to get you into the Christmas spirit. The mincemeat bubbles over the side of the pastryΒ and slightly burns into sticky deliciousness you just donβt get with shop bought ones.
With this in mind I suggested to BB that we make some after school, but she looked at me as though I was slightly mad and said: “Why do we need to make them when we can just buy them?”
That is exactly why we should be making our own mince pies. With so many things coming ready-made, and in a throwaway society where when something breaks or gets a hole we just bin it instead of fixing it, at four years old BB already thinks itβs easier just to buy something.
It was only when I got to the supermarket I conceded she had a point: making your own mince pies is actually quite a faff when you take into account the pastry and mincemeat making that needs to happen first. (I’m a big fan of easy peasy recipes).Β But I couldnβt back down and buy ready-made ones, even if they were only Β£1 a box.
So I did what anyone determined to prove a point would do: I improvised and came home with ready-to-roll pastry and a jar of mincemeat. (I know, I know – feel free to call me a hypocrite!)
This means you get the best of both worlds β easy peasy mince pies that are actually homemade. Or home assembled, anyway.
It couldnβt be easier, and this is what we did:
Ingredients
One block of ready-to-roll shortcrust pastry
One jar of mincemeat
Flour for rolling
Butter for greasing
One egg for glazing
Method
Roll the pastry on a floured surface until itβs about 5mm thick and use a cutter or the top of a glass to cut out the bases for the pies.
Put the bases into a greased muffin tin and fill with a dessert spoonful of the mincemeat.
Use shaped cutters to cut out tops for the pies from the remaining pastry. We used a star cutter and a reindeer cutter, but any shape will do. If you donβt have a shaped cutter you could use a knife to create the shape of your choice, or simply use a cup or cutter for round tops just like the bases.
Brush with beaten egg and bake at 200 degrees (180 for a fan oven or gas mark 6) for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
As you can see BB loved the whole process, and once the pies had cooled so she could βtestβ one she turned to me and said: βThese are so much more yummier than Tescoβs mince pies mummy. I think we should make them again next year.β
Needless to say I gave myself a smug congratulatory pat on the back.
Even if we didnβt technically make them.
Linking up with…
I think this is a brilliant compromise, you get all the satisfaction of making them without the bother of doing the background work. We all know the rolling, cutting and eating are the best bits anyway! Your little girl looks like a natural in the kitchen, I bet she was proud of the result π #happydiarylinky
She really was proud – it was far more educational than simply buying them!x
We love ‘making’ ours too – nothing better than the smell when they are cooking! It’s a great way to get the children involved and they are always so proud to hand them round during the Christmas period. BB looks really proud of hers too π #HowToSundays
She was so proud & has been telling everyone!x
Love the stars on top – its a great way of making them not too pastry heavy which can sometimes be the case (especially when my kids roll out pastry!) These look fab!
That’s true – I hadn’t thought of that!
Fair point on the making them verses buying them. Although much more fun this way! #ftmob
We need more fun in our lives!
Aww, just look how happy she is! Definitely much better to make them, I love the stickiness of freshly baked mince pies. We made some at the boys grandparents on Sunday, but didn’t have ready rolled pastry so made our own, it’s not too much work, but definitely a lot messier!! Thanks so much for linking up to #HowtoSunday π x
Making your own pastry is very impressive – I bet they were delicious!
What a lovely Christmas recipe to do with young children X #HowToSundays
So pleased you like it! x
I’m all for making mince pies with ready-made pastry and a jar of mincemeat – I’m quite capable of making pastry myself but it is so much quicker and easier to buy it ready made, and you still get that lovely home-made taste. So glad that BB thought the “home assembled” ones were much yummier than Tesco’s ones too. Thanks for linking up to #ftmob π
I like making pastry too (I have really cold hands which apparently is perfect for pastry making!) but it’s just too much off a faff when BB wants to ‘help’!x
That sounds like the perfect compromise, simplicity and the satisfaction of saying I made them too. Thanks for sharing, Tracey xx #happydiaries
Exactly – best of both worlds!!