Easy Peasy Mini Mince Pies Recipes

MINI MINCE PIES

Steps:

• Peel, core and grate apple. Chop nuts.
• Combine all mince ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Set aside.
• Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
• Cut cold butter into cubes, then rub into flour until small crumbs form.
• Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and egg yolks to make a dough.
• Form dough into a ball, press into a disk shape, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350F/175C.
• Roll out dough to 1/8 inch [3mm] thick. Use a cookie or biscuit cutter a little larger than your mini muffin tin to cut rounds out of the dough.
• Press dough into mini muffin tin. Prick the bottom of the dough a couple times with a fork.
• Fill 3/4 full with mince filling (about 3/4 teaspoon).
• Re-roll the dough (thinner than before) and use mini cookie cutters to cut out shapes to place on the tops of your pies. Then, sprinkle vanilla sugar over the top (or use an egg wash).
• Bake at 350F/175C about 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in airtight container.

MINI MINCE PIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl mix the flour and salt.
• Cut butter into the flour mixture with a fork or pastry blender until the flour has the consistency of sand and the butter is evenly distributed.
• Add 6-7 Tbsp of water slowly and mix with fork until the dough clumps together around the fork. It should clean the edges of the bowl and nearly come together on its own. All it should need is a gentle press together to come into a clean ball.
• Roll out the crust on a lightly floured surface to roughly 1/8 inch thick.
• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Cut the rolled crust into small circles that fit nicely into your mini muffin tin. (We used roughly 2 ¼ - 2 ½ inch circles.) Re-roll the crust dough as necessary to fill 24 mini muffin tins.
• Spoon roughly 1 Tbsp of mincemeat into each crust shell.
• Roll out the leftover crust and use a cookie cutter to cut out a star or other shape for the top crust.
• Bake the mini mince pies for 30-35 minutes, until golden.
• Remove the pies from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Store the mini mince pies in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks on the counter.

UNBELIEVABLY EASY MINCE PIES

Steps:

• To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt.
• Combine the pastry into a ball - don't add liquid - and knead it briefly. The dough will be fairly firm, like shortbread dough. You can use the dough immediately, or chill for later.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 18 holes of two 12-hole patty tins, by pressing small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each hole.
• Spoon the mincemeat into the pies. Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies.
• Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal - you don't need to seal them with milk or egg as they will stick on their own. Will keep frozen for up to one month.
• Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg. Bake for 20 mins until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then remove to a wire rack. To serve, lightly dust with the icing sugar. Will keep for three to four days in an airtight container.