The real bringer of merriment in our house - along with King's College Choir's greatest Christmas hits on repeat - is mince pies. And it's lucky my lovely mum has become such an expert. Who needs a hangover when there are trays full of mince pies to keep me going til New Year?
Mum's Mince Pies...
Packet sweet short-crust pastry
A jar of finest, nicest mincemeat
Large glug of port or brandy
Grated apple
Chopped clementines
Flaked almonds
Cubes of marzipan
- Oven to 200°C, get a cupcake or muffin tin out of the cupboard.
- Roll out pastry to a couple of millimetres thickness and cut into rounds big enough for your tin and into stars or holly leaves as toppers. Place the pastry rounds into the tins.
- Empty jar of bought mincemeat into a bowl, grate the apple in, chuck in the chopped clementines, glug in the port or brandy and give it a good mix up. Fill your pastry rounds with the mixture. Bury a square of marzipan into the pie and sprinkle flaked almonds on the top.
- Top the pie with its pastry holly leaf or star and sprinkle demarera or golden caster sugar on top.
- Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until the pies are golden on the top.
- Serve with brandy butter.
