Mince Pies

These sweet (yes sweet!) pastry delights will be sure to have you asking for seconds (or more) and they go fantastically with a nice cup of tea (or something a bit stronger). For those of you who are not familiar with mince pies you might be confused as to why I said mince pies are sweet. Well despite the name, and the fact that mince pies are made with mincemeat, mince pies do not contain any meat and are made primarily of dried fruit and spices. But don't let me convince you, check out the recipe to see for yourselves.

• Preparation Time: 45 mins
• Cooking Time: 2 hr
• Total Time: 2 hr 45 mins
• Calories: 448 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup golden raisins
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground mace
• 2 cups brown sugar
• ¾ cup dried currants
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 medium lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 medium Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored, and diced
• 4 tablespoons chopped candied orange peel
• 1 (15 ounce) package refrigerated dough for a double-crust pie, defrosted

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step 2

Combine apples, brown sugar, raisins, golden raisins, currants, orange peel, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, mace, and ginger in a medium saucepan. Mix together and bring to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn the heat down to the lowest setting on your stovetop. Simmer, stirring frequently to ensure the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from the heat and leave to cool while you prepare your pastry.

Step 3

Unroll pie crusts onto a flat surface. Cut into 24 circles using a cookie cutter or the bottom of a mug.

Step 4

Place a circle into the bottom of each cup of a 12-cup cupcake tin. Fill each of the pastry circles with fruit filling. Brush the edges of the pastry with some of the beaten egg and cover with the remaining circles. Brush all of the mince pies with more beaten egg.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes.