Christmas Mince Pies

Christmas mince pies are sweet fruit pies traditionally served in the Christmas season.

The recipe can be traced back to the 13th century

when the Crusaders returned from the holy land,

bringing with them the idea for a dish sized pie containing

mincemeats, fruit, suet and spices, such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

The pies were originally associated with

the offerings of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

brought to the Christ child by the three kings from the east in the Christmas story.

The pies were oblong, representing the manger in which the Christ child lay.

Even though the pies were banned in puritanical times,

they were brought back in Victorian times

as the small, sweet pies with suet, fruit and spices

that we know today -

no longer containing any mincemeat at all.

.

Ingredients:
Pastry:
125g butter
125ml caster sugar
1 egg
5ml vanilla extract
500ml flour
7.5ml baking powder
Christmas fruit mince, which can be bought in the supermarket or homemade.
icing sugar to dust before serving

.

Christmas Fruit Mince:

Although my source recipe for Christmas Mincemeat suggested that this should be made about a month in advance and should not be kept for longer than 6 weeks, I usually make this up as much as a year or more in advance.

The longer it is kept, the more mature and boosie it is.

The traditional recipe contains currants, which I find a little to potent,

so I use blueberries or dried cranberries instead.

.

250g cooking apples, peeled and cored

250g blueberries or dried cranberries, or a mix of both

250g raisins

250g sultanas

250g prunes

250g dried apricots

125g glace cherries

125g chopped mixed peel

125g chopped walnuts, hazel nuts, Brazil nuts or a mix of all three

250g suet, minced

500g Muscovado sugar

10ml mixed spice

125ml brandy or rum

.

Method:

Clean and mince the dried fruit.

Mix in a large bowl with the nuts and the chopped apples.

Fold in the suet, sugar and spice.

Add the brandy or rum and mix into the fruit. Make sure the liquor is enough to cover all the fruit.

Cover the bowl with cling film and leave for 48 hours to allow the fruit to absorb the liquor and swell.

Stir well and store in sterilised jars. Seal well and put away until required for the pies.

Method:
Pies:
Cream the butter and the sugar until it takes on a creamy smoothness.
Add the egg and vanilla extract; beat well.
Fold in the flour and baking powder, a little at a time to make a stiff dough.
Form the dough, which will have quite a sticky constituency, into a ball and transfer it to a flowered board to knead.
Knead the dough until it takes on a more firm constituency.
Cover in cling film and place in the fridge to firm up for about half an hour to an hour.
Prepare a 12 holed tart baking tray but buttering it and dusting with flour.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut out circles of dough with a biscuit cutter. Fill the depressions in the tray with the circles of pastry.
Put about a teaspoonful of fruit mince in each tart and cover each with a smaller circle of pastry than the bases or with a star of pastry. The tarts do not have to be sealed if you use the star shape.
Bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry starts to take on a bit of colour.
Transfer the pies to a wire rack to cool.
These can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container.
Before serving, warm them up by putting them in the oven again for 5-8 minutes.
To serve, dust them with a little icing sugar.