Homemade mince pies are one of the great small pleasures of a British Christmas: crisp, buttery shortcrust around a spiced fruit filling, dusted with icing sugar and best served warm. This version is completely alcohol-free, using our own mincemeat, so everyone at the table can have one.
The one habit that separates neat mince pies from slumped, stuck ones is keeping the pastry cold. Chill the dough, and then chill the filled pies again before baking. Fill them modestly so they don't bubble over, and you'll have a dozen tidy pies with crisp edges every time.
Mince Pies Recipe: Crisp Pastry, Alcohol-Free Filling
Makes Makes 12, plus 30 minutes chilling
Prep
30 min
Cook
20 min
Total
50 min
Makes
Makes 12, plus 30 minutes chilling
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
To finish
Method
- 1
Rub or pulse the flour, salt and cold butter to fine breadcrumbs. Stir through the sugar and orange zest. Add the beaten egg and bring it to a dough, adding a few drops of cold milk only if it won't come together. Handle it as little as possible, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- 2
Heat the oven to 200°C conventional (180°C fan, gas 6) and lightly grease the bun tin.
- 3
Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to about 3 to 4mm. Cut 12 bases about 8cm across and press them gently into the holes without stretching. Cut 12 lids, either 6cm rounds or stars, re-rolling the offcuts.
- 4
Spoon about 1 heaped teaspoon of mincemeat into each case, keeping it below the rim so it can't bubble over.
- 5
Brush the base rims with a little beaten egg, sit the lids on top and press to seal. Glaze the tops, sprinkle with caster sugar, and snip a small steam vent in each full lid. Star tops need no vent.
- 6
Chill the filled tin for 10 to 15 minutes. This is the single best step for stopping the pastry shrinking.
- 7
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden. Keep an eye on them from about 15 minutes, as sugary pastry browns quickly.
- 8
Cool in the tin for 5 to 10 minutes so the pies set and release cleanly, then lift onto a wire rack and dust with icing sugar.
Cook’s notes
- Timings: about 30 minutes to make, 30 minutes chilling for the dough plus a short chill for the filled pies, then 18 to 20 minutes baking.
- Keep everything cold and chill twice, the dough and the assembled pies, for crisp, tidy edges that don't slump.
- Use our alcohol-free mincemeat. A plain jar is easily lifted with grated apple, citrus zest and a pinch of mixed spice.
- Don't overfill: mincemeat expands, and any that escapes turns to sugar that glues the pies to the tin.
- Star or cut-out tops bake lighter and need no steam vent. Full lids are more traditional but must be snipped.
- A metal tin in a properly hot oven gives the crispest bases, so avoid glass dishes.
What you’ll need
- Mixing bowl or food processor
- Rolling pin
- 12-hole bun or patty tin, metal, for the crispest bases
- Round cutter about 8cm, for the bases
- Round or star cutter about 6cm, for the lids
- Pastry brush
- Small sharp knife, for steam vents
- Wire rack and a small sieve for dusting
Troubleshooting
The pastry shrinks or slumps.
It was over-worked, under-chilled, or stretched into the tin. Rest the dough, chill the filled pies before baking, and ease the pastry into the holes rather than pulling it.
The bases come out soggy.
The filling was too wet or overfilled, or the oven too cool. Use a metal tin, keep the filling below the rim, and make sure the oven is properly hot.
The pies stick in the tin.
They cooled too long or egg wash ran underneath. Grease the tin well, keep egg off the metal, and lever them out while still warm.
The filling boiled over.
They were overfilled. Stick to about a heaped teaspoon per pie so the mincemeat has room to expand.
The pastry is cracked and crumbly to roll.
It is too dry or too cold. Work in a teaspoon of cold milk, let it warm slightly, and patch any tears with offcuts.
More about mince pies
Choosing your pastry. Shortcrust is the British standard, and it comes in a few registers. A plainer, barely sweet pastry bakes crisp and short. A sweet shortcrust, with more sugar and an egg, is more biscuity. A rich shortbread is very buttery and tender. Butter carries the flavour in all of them, and a little shortening buys extra flakiness if you like. This recipe sits in the middle, a sweet shortcrust that is easy to handle and crisp when baked.
Using our alcohol-free mincemeat. Traditional mincemeat, and the butter served alongside it, are often laced with spirits. Ours is completely alcohol-free, so nobody is left out, and it works exactly the same way in these pies. If you are using a shop jar, a spoon of grated apple, a little citrus zest and a pinch of mixed spice will freshen it up nicely. Our own mincemeat recipe makes enough for a good batch.
Star tops versus full lids. A full lid is the classic look, but it traps steam, so it needs a small snip to stop it lifting off. Star, holly or other cut-out tops use less pastry, bake a shade lighter and skip the vent altogether, and a lattice is a pretty middle ground. It is worth having a couple of cutters so you can mix them on the plate.
Make-ahead and freezing. Mince pies are made for getting ahead. The dough freezes well, and you can freeze the assembled pies unbaked and bake them straight from frozen with a few extra minutes. Baked pies keep in an airtight tin for several days, or freeze for up to about three months, and a few minutes in a warm oven brings them back to just-baked.
Serving them well. Mince pies are at their best warm and dusted with icing sugar. Instead of the traditional spirit-laced butter, offer alcohol-free partners that do the same job: clotted or lightly whipped cream, a jug of warm custard, or an easy orange and vanilla butter beaten together with a little icing sugar. Warm pie, cool cream, and the afternoon is sorted.
Frequently asked questions
Written by
UK Homesteading Team
Editorial team
The UK Homesteading editorial team, offering UK-specific, evidence-led guidance on growing, keeping, preserving and the law.
