Traditional Mince Pies Recipe (The British Way)

A traditional British mince pie is two bites of spiced fruit mincemeat in buttery shortcrust pastry, dusted with icing sugar, and best eaten slightly warm — this is the proper method, from homemade mincemeat through to the bake.

A quick word about mincemeat

The name is the biggest source of confusion in British cooking. Mince pies once genuinely contained meat — usually mutton or beef, preserved for winter with sugar, dried fruit and brandy. The meat disappeared from the recipe over the 19th century; the name stayed. Modern mincemeat is fruit, spice, sugar and suet, with suet the only animal product — vegetable suet works just as well.

Homemade mincemeat (the night before)

Bought mincemeat is perfectly good — Robertson's, Tiptree and Mrs Darlington's are all reliable. Homemade is a different thing, and takes about 20 minutes of actual work.

Ingredients

Method

1. 1Mix everything except the brandy in a large bowl.
2. 2Cover and leave overnight at room temperature.
3. 3The next morning, stir in the brandy, decant into sterilised jars, and seal.

Storage

6 months in a cool, dark cupboard

Best made

Early November, matured 3–4 weeks before using

The mince pies

Makes

12 mince pies

Prep

30 minutes plus 30 minutes chilling

Bake

18–20 minutes

For the pastry

For assembly

Method

1. 1Make the pastry. Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl, rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, and stir in the orange zest. Add the egg yolk and just enough cold water to bring it together. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
2. 2Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 220°C conventional / Gas 7, and grease a 12-hole shallow tart tin.
3. 3Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Cut twelve 8cm discs for the bases and twelve smaller 6cm lids (or star shapes) for the tops.
4. 4Fill each case with a generous teaspoon of mincemeat — don't overfill, or it will bubble out and burn.
5. 5Seal by brushing the base edges with beaten egg, placing the lids on top, and pressing lightly. Brush the tops with egg and sprinkle with a pinch of caster sugar.
6. 6Vent by cutting a small slit in each lid (skip this step if using star lids).
7. 7Bake for 18–20 minutes until deeply golden.
8. 8Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before lifting out — they're fragile when warm.
9. 9Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Eating them properly

A mince pie should be slightly warm — eaten within 30 minutes of the oven, or reheated for 5 minutes at 150°C.

Brandy butter

Butter, icing sugar and brandy, served cold to melt over the warm pie

Clotted cream

Traditional accompaniment

To drink

Strong tea, or a small glass of sherry

How long to eat them for

Tradition says one mince pie a day from 1 December to Twelfth Night (5 January) — that's 36 mince pies, for good luck in the year ahead. We support this fully.

Storage

Airtight tin, room temperature

5 days

Freezer

Open-freeze on a tray, then bag; reheat from frozen at 160°C for 12 minutes

The shop-bought question

Shop-bought mince pies are entirely acceptable — M&S Collection are excellent, Fortnum & Mason's sublime, even Tesco Finest perfectly good. What homemade gives you that shop-bought doesn't is the smell of the kitchen the morning you bake — citrus, spice, butter, brandy — a Christmas smell no candle reproduces. If time is short, buy good mincemeat and make just the pastry; that's what most people notice anyway.

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Related reading

• Mulled wine: the classic British recipe
• Christmas pudding: the proper traditional recipe
• Classic gingerbread man recipe (UK)