Here’s an idea for your Christmas table – Mince pie. For the first time I heard about it from the best English teacher – my daughter’s teacher – Miss Maria Angelova. Ever since I was told this thing exists and how delicious it was, it has been on my recipes waiting list. But I knew I would make it for Christmas, because then it is its time.
Because of the meaning of “mince”, my first surprise was that it’s a sweet pie. Probably the stuffing of a variety of fruits and nuts is so reminiscent of minced meat that I guess that’s where the name tag comes from.
Thanks also to BBC GoodFood for the recipe, which I, as a true cook, could not resist to change a little (read “I used the spices and fruits I had at home and managed to buy from the store”)… 😉
Try to prepare something different just like these cute little muffin-shaped pies! You can do it the classic way too – a juicy, crunchy and beautiful big pie!
Be good and peace, health and love for all!
Happy Holidays! 🙂
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
Pre-soak the raisins for about 1 hour in Baileys liqueur or another alcohol you like. Put the finely chopped apricots, the dried cranberries, the dates and the drained raisins in a small casserole.
Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes. Add them to the dried fruits along with the sugar.
Add cinnamon as well.
Stir well and place the casserole on medium heat.
Stir for about 10-15 minutes.
Once the mixture is ready, add the liqueur you drained from the raisins.
Add the nuts, too.
Stir the mixture well and let it cool down.
Add all the dough ingredients to the blender. Switch for about 1-2 minutes until everything get crumbly.
Do not expect the mixture to form itself as a dough in the blender. Even if you see lumps of butter somewhere (which will happen if the butter wasn't soft enough), don't worry. Put the mixture onto a slightly floured countertop. Start gently kneading. You do not need to knead for a long time, just to make a compact mass.
Gather the dough into one flat compact rectangle. Do not make it into a ball, thus it will cool faster and more evenly.
Wrap the dough in a plastic household foil and let it cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Take about 1/3 of it, wrap it back in the foil and put it again in the refrigerator. Roll out the remaining 2/3 of the dough into a thin crust about 3-4 mm thick.
Cut circles of about 8-10 cm in diameter. I used molds for salt pans and ravioli (good I finally found some purpose to use it).
Cut all the remaining circles as well. Stir the remaining dough and roll again. If the dough gets too hot, wrap it again in foil and place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to cool and also sprinkle some flour on the countertop where you roll it.
Prepare a muffin pan. Take the dough circles and press in with your fingers to fit well on the bottom and on the walls of the muffin molds.
Do this with all other molds.
Then use a fork to punch the bottom of the pies.
Put them in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. They don't need to be finally baked, but they still need to remain relatively white.
I did not use baking weights (the so-called "blind baking"), where rice, beans or stones are used, which press the bottom of the pie and thus prevent it from flowing and help maintain its good shape. For this reason, I have to admit that in addition to the walls, the bottom of the pies also rose. So after removing them from the oven, I again tapped the bottoms with a fork and pressed them slightly with a knife handle.
Fill all the pies with the filling (put 1-2 tbsp of it). The spike basket should be full to the edge of the dough.
Take out from the fridge the remaining 1/3 of the dough. With it you will decorate the pies. Since I didn't have a large variety of Christmas cookie cutters, I used these. In fact, it doesn't matter how big the shape will be. It is important that it is almost the size of the diameter of the pies so that it can be attached to the edges. You can cut any shapes (for example, 1 cm diameter circles to make circles, Christmas trees and whatever your imagination gives you), you can cut the shapes yourself, and you can also cut entire lids and glue them to the pies. In this case, however, make sure to make a few holes so that the pie can breathe.
Attach the cut forms as lids to the pies.
Brush the beaten egg with the oil.
Here are the stars.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes until golden.
After removing the pies from the oven, let them cool for about 30 minutes. After that, it is now quite easy to remove them. I do not advise you to try to take them out with a knife, as it is a butter dough and quite fragile. So you are very likely to spoil the look of these beautiful sweets! I recommend finding a rectangular plate, dish, or tray to place on the muffin tray and then flip them together with a quick swipe. They will fall out of their nests on their own easily.
Here are our beautiful Christmas temptations! You can optionally sprinkle them with some icing sugar!
Dive yourself in the atmosphere of Christmas with this traditional English recipe! After 2-3 days they get even more delicious! Enjoy! 🙂
If I can do it, so can you!
Bon appetit!
Ingredients
Directions
Pre-soak the raisins for about 1 hour in Baileys liqueur or another alcohol you like. Put the finely chopped apricots, the dried cranberries, the dates and the drained raisins in a small casserole.
Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes. Add them to the dried fruits along with the sugar.
Add cinnamon as well.
Stir well and place the casserole on medium heat.
Stir for about 10-15 minutes.
Once the mixture is ready, add the liqueur you drained from the raisins.
Add the nuts, too.
Stir the mixture well and let it cool down.
Add all the dough ingredients to the blender. Switch for about 1-2 minutes until everything get crumbly.
Do not expect the mixture to form itself as a dough in the blender. Even if you see lumps of butter somewhere (which will happen if the butter wasn't soft enough), don't worry. Put the mixture onto a slightly floured countertop. Start gently kneading. You do not need to knead for a long time, just to make a compact mass.
Gather the dough into one flat compact rectangle. Do not make it into a ball, thus it will cool faster and more evenly.
Wrap the dough in a plastic household foil and let it cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Take about 1/3 of it, wrap it back in the foil and put it again in the refrigerator. Roll out the remaining 2/3 of the dough into a thin crust about 3-4 mm thick.
Cut circles of about 8-10 cm in diameter. I used molds for salt pans and ravioli (good I finally found some purpose to use it).
Cut all the remaining circles as well. Stir the remaining dough and roll again. If the dough gets too hot, wrap it again in foil and place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to cool and also sprinkle some flour on the countertop where you roll it.
Prepare a muffin pan. Take the dough circles and press in with your fingers to fit well on the bottom and on the walls of the muffin molds.
Do this with all other molds.
Then use a fork to punch the bottom of the pies.
Put them in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. They don't need to be finally baked, but they still need to remain relatively white.
I did not use baking weights (the so-called "blind baking"), where rice, beans or stones are used, which press the bottom of the pie and thus prevent it from flowing and help maintain its good shape. For this reason, I have to admit that in addition to the walls, the bottom of the pies also rose. So after removing them from the oven, I again tapped the bottoms with a fork and pressed them slightly with a knife handle.
Fill all the pies with the filling (put 1-2 tbsp of it). The spike basket should be full to the edge of the dough.
Take out from the fridge the remaining 1/3 of the dough. With it you will decorate the pies. Since I didn't have a large variety of Christmas cookie cutters, I used these. In fact, it doesn't matter how big the shape will be. It is important that it is almost the size of the diameter of the pies so that it can be attached to the edges. You can cut any shapes (for example, 1 cm diameter circles to make circles, Christmas trees and whatever your imagination gives you), you can cut the shapes yourself, and you can also cut entire lids and glue them to the pies. In this case, however, make sure to make a few holes so that the pie can breathe.
Attach the cut forms as lids to the pies.
Brush the beaten egg with the oil.
Here are the stars.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes until golden.
After removing the pies from the oven, let them cool for about 30 minutes. After that, it is now quite easy to remove them. I do not advise you to try to take them out with a knife, as it is a butter dough and quite fragile. So you are very likely to spoil the look of these beautiful sweets! I recommend finding a rectangular plate, dish, or tray to place on the muffin tray and then flip them together with a quick swipe. They will fall out of their nests on their own easily.
Here are our beautiful Christmas temptations! You can optionally sprinkle them with some icing sugar!
Dive yourself in the atmosphere of Christmas with this traditional English recipe! After 2-3 days they get even more delicious! Enjoy! 🙂