Christmas Sweet Mince Pies

Christmas Sweet Mince Pies are a traditional British holiday dessert. Dried fruit, apple, citrus and brown sugar all soaked in brandy make up the filling inside homemade pie crusts.

Growing up in England, it never really felt like Christmas until the sweet mince pies made an appearance. The smell of them baking they taste just like Christmas.

These cute little treats taste best if the mincemeat is made ahead of time and has time to sit and let the flavors combine. Overnight is fine, but up to a week is better. If you don’t have time for this, no problem they are still really good.

Before I started writing my own recipes, I used to make recipes from the British chefs Delia Smith or Jamie Oliver. I am so glad I now have my own recipe that I am so happy with and all the readers who have made them are too.

Would you believe that these pies used to actually be made with meat? Hence the name, mince pies and thankfully are made with sweet mince meat instead of the real thing. I’ve always known them this way and are quite happy to keep them this way.

Kid friendly

If you are serving these pies to children, you can substitute the brandy with apple cider/juice or orange juice.

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Yield: 12 pies

Christmas Sweet Mince Pies

Print

Dried fruit, apple, citrus and brown sugar all soaked in brandy make up the filling inside homemade pie crusts.

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 ounces (142 grams) currants
• 5 ounces (142 grams) raisins
• ¼ cup (59 ml) brandy
• 2 ½ ounces (70 grams) Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 ounces (57 grams) candied peel
• Juice of 1 orange
• Zest of half an orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ½ cup (68 grams) dark brown sugar
• 2 ounces (57 grams) butter, cold
• 1 ½ cups (192 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and kept cold
• ½ cup (118 ml) cold water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Add the currants, raisins and to a large bowl. Allow to soak for 1-2 hours up to overnight.
2. To a food processor add the flour, sugar, salt and butter. Pulse until you get the texture of fine breadcrumbs. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in just enough cold water until it forms a ball. Remove, knead a little on a floured board. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 10-15 minutes.
3. To the brandy soaked raisins and currants, add the apples, candied peel, orange juice and zest & lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Use a box grater to grate in the cold butter, mix well.
4. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C
5. Butter a 12 muffin pan.
6. On a floured surface roll out the pastry and use a 4-inch cutter to cut rounds and place each  into the cups of the muffin pan. Scoop 1/3 cup of the filling into each of the cups.
7. Re-roll out the remaining pastry and cut out holiday shapes. Place them on top of the filling and brush the shapes with the beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes (depending on your oven) until the pastry is golden brown

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1 pie
Amount Per Serving Calories 281Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 41mgSodium 55mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 2gSugar 28gProtein 3g

Continue to Content

Yield: 12 pies

Christmas Sweet Mince Pies

Print

Dried fruit, apple, citrus and brown sugar all soaked in brandy make up the filling inside homemade pie crusts.

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 ounces (142 grams) currants
• 5 ounces (142 grams) raisins
• ¼ cup (59 ml) brandy
• 2 ½ ounces (70 grams) Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 ounces (57 grams) candied peel
• Juice of 1 orange
• Zest of half an orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ½ cup (68 grams) dark brown sugar
• 2 ounces (57 grams) butter, cold
• 1 ½ cups (192 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and kept cold
• ½ cup (118 ml) cold water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Add the currants, raisins and to a large bowl. Allow to soak for 1-2 hours up to overnight.
2. To a food processor add the flour, sugar, salt and butter. Pulse until you get the texture of fine breadcrumbs. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in just enough cold water until it forms a ball. Remove, knead a little on a floured board. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 10-15 minutes.
3. To the brandy soaked raisins and currants, add the apples, candied peel, orange juice and zest & lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Use a box grater to grate in the cold butter, mix well.
4. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C
5. Butter a 12 muffin pan.
6. On a floured surface roll out the pastry and use a 4-inch cutter to cut rounds and place each  into the cups of the muffin pan. Scoop 1/3 cup of the filling into each of the cups.
7. Re-roll out the remaining pastry and cut out holiday shapes. Place them on top of the filling and brush the shapes with the beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes (depending on your oven) until the pastry is golden brown

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1 pie
Amount Per Serving Calories 281Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 41mgSodium 55mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 2gSugar 28gProtein 3g

If you’ve made this or any other recipe leave a comment below. I love to hear from my readers!

You can also FOLLOW ME
on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see daily recipe updates.