Juliet Sear's freeze-ahead mince pies to get you ready for Christmas
As we’ve just discovered, nothing says Christmas quite like the taste of a mince pie. And if you’d rather make your own than stick with shop-bought, now is the time to start prepping! With 39 days to go, Juliet Sear is here to save you time this festive period with her easy, freeze-ahead, mince pies.
Juliet Sear’s Freeze Ahead Mince Pies
Makes: 9-10
Ingredients
For the filling1 jar of mincemeat (these vary between 400-500g)Zest of one large orange1 shot of cointreau, grand marnier, brandy or whisky (optional)
For the pastry (optional - use a 500g block shortcrust pastry if preferred)A little melted butter250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting40g icing sugarPinch of salt125g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed1 medium free range egg yolk1 egg, beaten1 egg for the egg wash Sprinkling of granulated sugar for the topsPlain flour, for dustingGranulated sugar, for sprinkling
For the Viennese Whirl tops250g softened unsalted butter1 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste50g icing sugar220g plain flour60g cornflour½ tsp ground cinnamon½ tsp salt
Method
1. For the filling, take the jar of mincemeat, add orange zest and booze. This will make a little more than you will need for one batch, as a guide you will need 40-45g per pie. 2. Brush the tin with melted butter and let it set in the fridge while getting on with the pastry rolling.
3. If making pastry, place the flour, icing sugar and pinch of salt in a food processor. Blitz to mix up then add in the cold butter and blitz until it is like breadcrumbs.
4. Add in the egg yolks and the 1 beaten egg, blitz for another 45 seconds to a minute until it begins to come together and forms clumps of dough. Then tip out onto a lightly floured surface and bring together into a ball and flatten out.5. Dust the surface as you need and roll out to a little thinner than a pound coin.
6. Take a large cutter and cut enough circles to line the bases, place into the tin neatly, push down with your fingertips.
7. Spoon the mincemeat into each one to fill to just below the top (approx. 2 tbsp) and make the tops with the smaller cutter.
8. Brush around the edges with egg wash and press the pastry tops firmly onto the base to seal. Poke little holes into the top for the steam. Re-roll any pastry cuttings, and make Christmas shapes with a knife, or use cutters, to decorate. When ready to bake, brush with egg wash, add the decoration and sprinkle with sugar.
9. If making the Viennese whirl tops, place the bases in the fridge to set.10. Place the butter, vanilla and icing sugar into a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. Sieve in the flour, cornflour, cinnamon and salt together and beat until thoroughly mixed but be careful not to over-mix.
11. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle. Pipe swirled rounds over the outer edge of the set pies and wind in, then pipe a little higher in the middle to make a swirl effect and seal over the pies.
12. Place in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes before baking or freeze until needed.
13. To bake the mince pies, preheat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 4. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and crisp. Leave to cool in the tins for about 15 minutes, then carefully release and lift out with a small palette knife.
14. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Juliet’s Tips:
Note that viennese topped pies are more delicate than pastry topped pies, so make sure they are cooled enough and take care when getting out of the tin so you do not crush the tops.
Bake straight away or freeze once filled and topped, just allow a few more minutes if baking from frozen.