17 December 2023 , 17:00
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Mince pies are perhaps the most quintessentially British food when it comes to Christmas.
Even though you've insisted you're full from your festive roast, when the mince pies come out everybody is suddenly ready for more food. If store-bought desserts aren't quite hitting the spot, it's time to get your apron on and head into the kitchen.
Mary Berry's mince pie recipe comes with a citrus twist that she says will 'really hit the spot'. They take less than 30 minutes to prepare, make enough to feed the entire family, and you probably already have most of the ingredients lying around in the kitchen.
Mary Berry's mince pie recipe
Ingredients (serves 12)
Pastry:
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- Plain flour (175g)
- Icing sugar (25g plus extra for dusting)
- Cold butter, cut into cubes (75g)
- One large orange, grated zest only
- One free-range egg
Filling:
- 'Good quality' read-made mincemeat - not the beef kind (250g)
- Ready-to-eat dried apricots, finely chopped (100g)
- Uncoloured marzipan, grated (125g)
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Method
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 for a fan oven) or Gas 6. Place a baking sheet inside to heat up.
- Rub the flour and butter together in a large bowl, using your fingertips. If you have a food processor, you can pulse the ingredients together until the mixture turns to a breadcrumb consistency.
- Add the icing sugar and orange zest then stir in a beaten egg and mix until the mixture just starts to come together as a dough. Wrap it in greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge until it is firm - this should take 10-15 minutes.
If anyone knows how to make the perfect mince pie - it's Mary Berry (YouTube)- Unwrap the dough place the greaseproof paper on a work surface and lightly dust it with icing sugar. Place the dough on top, dust with more icing sugar and then cover with another greaseproof sheet so you have a dough sandwich. Roll the pastry between the sheets of greaseproof paper to a thickness of 1-2mm.
- Using an 8cm fluted pastry cutter, stamp 12 rounds from the pastry. Line each hole of a muffin tin with each cutout and prick the base of each one with a fork.
- Now onto the filling. Mix the mincemeat and apricots until well combined then divide the mixture among the pastry cases. Top each pie with some grated marzipan. Then, slide the muffin tin onto the hot baking sheet and bake for 12-15 mins. When they're golden-brown, take them out of the oven and dust with icing sugar.
Et voila! Remember, these mince pies are best served warm - so you can always prep the day before and then whack them in the oven when everyone starts to get a little peckish.
PS. Chilling the marzipan in the fridge will toughen it up a little. This makes it much easier to grate.
What's your favourite Christmas dessert? Let us know in the comments section below