Mini Mince Pie Puffs Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What pastry are mince pies made from? ›

Mincemeat encased in Jus-Rol shortcrust pastry – the perfect Christmas recipe.

9 Shortcrust pastry cases with a mincemeat filling, topped with a star shaped pastry lid and a light sweet dusting. These mince pies are a classic Christmas treat made bitesize! Suitable for a vegetarian diet.

They are usually the result of either a filling that's too wet in your bake or an under-cooked or thin pastry base. These are easily remedied though using a few simple tips. Firstly, if you're making a fruit pie, reduce your filling down first.

A mince pie (also mincemeat pie in North America, and fruit mince pie in Australia and New Zealand) is a sweet pie of English origin filled with mincemeat, being a mixture of fruit, spices and suet.

Mince pies have been eaten as part of a traditional British Christmas since at least the 16th century. Then they were made of a spiced, sweet minced meat mixture (often lamb), but they are now commonly made with sweet mincemeat, a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, spices, and brandy.

The reason mincemeat is called meat is because that's exactly what it used to be: most often mutton, but also beef, rabbit, pork or game. Mince pies were first served in the early middle ages, and the pies were quite sizeable, filled with a mixture of finely minced meat, chopped up fruit and a preserving liquid.

Why do we eat mince pies at Christmas? Mince pies were originally made to celebrate Jesus. They were oblong in shape to represent the manger that Jesus slept in as a baby and have a 'pastry baby Jesus' carved into the pastry. Traditionally one mince pie is eaten for the Twelve days of Christmas.

Mince pies = eyes

This is a term used widely in London even to this day, usually to describe a girl's features. Her eyes would be described as Minces, an even more slang term from the original mince pies.

Mincemeat pie is a dish that isn't very common in the American kitchen, which can lead to some confusion for cooks, even those on the Allrecipes staff.

Pastry being soggy in the middle is a result of the pastry being undercooked. Don't place the pastry on too high a shelf in the oven. One way to prevent soggy bottom pastry is to blind bake the pastry – This means partially or completely bake the pastry before adding the filling. Also, avoid over-filling your pastry.

Why should you stir mincemeat clockwise when making mince pies? ›

English tradition demands that the mince meat mixture should only be stirred in a clockwise direction. To stir it anticlockwise is to bring bad luck for the coming year. Another English custom is for all the family to take a turn in stirring the mincemeat mixture whilst making a wish.

To ensure crisp pastry, the base can be blind baked before adding the filling. Alternatively, fillings should be cooled before adding to the pastry to cut down on the amount of steam, and therefore moisture, that's produced. Cutting large slits into the lid of the pie ensures that steam can escape.

The "mince" in mincemeat comes from the Middle English mincen, and the Old French mincier both traceable to the Vulgar Latin minutiare, meaning chop finely. The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term minced meat, meaning finely chopped meat. Meat was also a term for food in general, not only animal flesh.

Symbolism and Tradition

In England, it is believed that eating mince pies on each of the twelve days of Christmas brings good luck for the coming year. During the English Civil War in the 17th century, mince pies were briefly banned by Puritans who considered them a symbol of Catholicism.

The mincemeat filling we know and love today includes ingredients like finely chopped dried fruits, candied orange, spices, sugar and nuts. Its name dates back to 15th century England when mincemeat would actually contain meat, unlike today's version found in our beloved modern mince pies.

Shortcrust pastry is the best for pies that fully encase a filling as they tend to be firmer and less likely to leak. Puff pastry is great if you prefer just a pastry lid on top of the filling. Ready rolled shop-bought pastry are easy to handle and quite reliable - even professional chefs appreciate the convenience!

Shortcrust base: Make and blind bake Shortcrust Pastry per that recipe using a 23cm/9” pie dish, whether using homemade or store bought. Preheat oven: Turn oven up to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan). Fill pie: Bring filling to room temp, do not use fridge cold. Puff pastry lid: Partially thaw puff pastry (do not cut).

One of the major differences between the two is the consistency of the crust. While pie crusts are very flaky and light, tart crusts or pastry crusts, tend to be firm and crumbly and not at all flaky.

The contrast between a Scotch pie to other mince pies is the cake, called "boiling water cake". It's more similar to a covering as opposed to a flaky cake, which means it very well may be shaped to frame the particular round with straight sides.