Classic Mince Pies
You can’t beat a batch of classic mince pies at Christmas! These ones feature homemade mincemeat, buttery pastry & a crisp demerara sugar top.
For me, mince pies are one of the best things about Christmas & this recipe is one of the best I’ve ever eaten (if I do say so myself!). These classic mince pies are made with an orange & vanilla sweet pastry & filled with homemade, brown butter mincemeat. There’s also a sprinkling of demerara sugar on top of each pie, for added crunch!
Proper mince pies are surprisingly easy to make & make a perfect, edible Christmas gift! There’s a crisp, all butter pastry base, a rich, fruity homemade mincemeat filling & a caramelised pastry lid. What’s not to like?! And don’t worry if you haven’t got time to make your own mincemeat, you can make really good mince pies with a good quality shop bought mincemeat!
For more festive recipes, take a look at our ever growing collection of Christmas recipes! There’s lots to choose from here, from everything that you’ll need to make a next level Christmas dinner, to impressive desserts, festive bakes & ways to use up leftovers…
What Are Mince Pies?
Mince pies originate from England & are traditionally eaten at Christmas. Years ago they would have been made with meat but nowadays they are filled with a mixture of dried fruit, citrus, spices, sugar & suet.
If you fancy making your own mincemeat, there’s a great recipe on the blog for brown butter mincemeat which uses a combination of suet & brown butter for a subtle nutty flavour. However, you can also use a good quality shop bought mincemeat instead. The mince pies will be great either way!
Why You’ll Love This Mince Pie Recipe!
- They’re super easy to make & you can use either shop bought or homemade mincemeat!
- Homemade mince pies are so much better than shop bought ones.
- A batch of mince pies makes a great Christmas gift.
- The sweet pastry is super crisp once baked & the demerara sugar on top caramelises nicely in the oven.
What You’ll Need
- Mincemeat – The classic mince pie filling! Mincemeat is a lightly spiced mix of dried fruit, fat, sugar & zest. I used my homemade brown butter mincemeat but a good quality shop bought one will work as well. Mincemeat contains suet, so make sure to use one that’s made with vegetable suet if you’d like your mince pies to be vegetarian.
- Sweet Pastry – We’re making our own sweet shortcrust pastry for this batch of mince pies. This is an all butter shortcrust pastry that’s made the classic way, with plain flour, icing sugar, salt & egg yolks. There’s some orange zest & vanilla paste in the pastry as well for extra flavour.
- Demerara Sugar – Sprinkling the top of the mince pies with demerara sugar before baking, gives them a crunchy, caramelised finish.
- Butter – Make sure to grease your tin with butter, to stop the mince pies from sticking!
- Egg Wash – Brushing the pies with egg wash gives them a shiny, golden brown finish once baked. Our egg wash is made with a whole egg & a teaspoon of milk.
How To Make Classic Mince Pies
Mince pies are individual pies that are made with shortcrust pastry & filled with fruity mincemeat. I like to sprinkle mine with demerara sugar before baking, which gives them a crisp, crunchy caramelised top! If you’d like to make your mince pies ahead of time, they’ll keep in the fridge for a day or two before baking & are best eaten within 3 days once cooked.
Step 1 – Making The Pastry
The first step is to make the pastry. I find that making shortcrust pastry by hand is best because it gives us greater control on the size of the butter & means the pastry won’t be overworked.
To make the pastry for our mince pies, we sieve plain flour, icing sugar into a mixing bowl then add in table salt & orange zest. Next, we add in diced, chilled butter then rub it in with our hands until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs. There should still be some larger pieces of butter visible.
To bring the pastry together, we add in egg yolks & vanilla paste then use our hands to work the pastry into a rough dough. Then we tip the pastry out onto a clean work surface then knead gently until the pastry has come together into a smooth dough. Make sure not to over work it though! Finally, we flatten the pastry into a disc, wrap in clingfilm then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before using.
Step 2 – Rolling Out The Pastry
Before using our pastry, we need to take it out of the fridge & let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. This makes it more pliable & easier to work with! In the meantime, we can grease a 12 hole muffin tin with softened butter. This stops the mince pies from sticking.
Now, we roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 3-4 mm then cut out 12 circles using a 9½ cm cutter & another 12 with a 7½ cm cutter. The larger discs of pastry are for the bases & the smaller ones are for the lids.
If needed, we can gently knead the pastry offcuts together then re roll to cut out more discs. I like to roll just over half of the pastry out for the bases first then roll & cut out the lids once the pies are filled. This stops the pastry from getting too warm!
Step 3 – Assembling The Mince Pies
To assemble the mince pies, we gently press the larger circles of pastry into the greased muffin tray, making sure that the pastry reaches the top of each hole. Next, we spoon an even amount of mincemeat into each pie (the pastry should be around ⅔ full) then brush a light coating of egg wash around the top of the pastry. For deep filled mince pies, I fill each pie with 50 grams of mincemeat.
Once the mince pies are filled, we place a pastry lid on top of each pie then press around the edges with our fingertips to seal then cut a small steam hole in the middle. Then before baking, we need to chill the mince pies in the fridge for at least an hour. This stops the pastry from shrinking & gives it a crisper texture.
Step 4 – Baking
When we’re ready to bake the pies (after they’ve chilled), we need to preheat an oven to 220°c/428°f. We’re also going to place a large baking tray into the oven as it heats up, which we’re going to be baking the pies on top of. This helps crisp up the base of each pie.
Whilst our oven preheats, we’re going to brush the top of each mince pie with a light coating of egg wash then pop them back in the fridge. We brush another layer of egg wash on just before baking then top each mince pie with a generous sprinkle of demerara sugar.
To cook, we place the tray of mince pies onto the preheated tray in the oven then bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is a deep golden brown & crisp. I like to bake my mince pies so that they’re a deep golden brown so that the sugar caramelises on top!
Step 5 – Taking Out Of The Tins
Once our mince pies are cooked, we need to let them cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before taking them out of the tin. This gives the pastry time to firm up & set slightly which prevents them from breaking when we take them out of the tin.
Whilst the mince pies are still hot, we need to run a the tip of a palette knife around the lip of each pie (where it meets the tin) to release it from the tin. I’ve tried skipping this step & trust me, it’s worth doing. Mince pies can have the tendency to stick to the tin, especially around where the base & lid meets & this step helps avoid crumbly, broken mince pie heartbreak!
To remove mince pies from the tin, we use a small palette knife to lift them out. As we released them whilst they were warm, they should just lift straight out! If they have stuck, gently slide the palette down the side of a mince pie then scoop out carefully.
Mince Pie Tips & Tricks
- Chill the pastry for at least 2 hours before rolling out & for 30 minutes once assembled.
- When rolling the pastry out, lightly dust your work surface with flour to stop it from sticking. Don’t use too much though because it will dry the pastry out.
- Let the pastry warm up slightly at room temperature before rolling out. This makes the pastry easier to work with & will prevent it from cracking when you press it into the muffin tray.
- If you’re not using homemade mincemeat, go for a good quality shop bought one. Your mince pies will thank you for it!
Frequently Asked Questions
To cook mince pies in an Aga, bake on the second from bottom set of runners in the baking oven.
Mince pies are best eaten within 3 days & should be stored in an airtight container, to stay fresh. Uncooked mince pies will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days before being baked or you can store them in the freezer for several months then bake from frozen for an extra 5-10 minutes.
Mincemeat is a lightly spiced mixed of dried fruit, sugar, fats (suet or butter) & zests. This is a classic filling for mince pies at Christmas!
Mince pies can be made with puff pastry or filo pastry instead of shortcrust!
Mince pies are great served on their own but also go really well when served warm with a scoop of ice cream, brandy butter or custard.
Equipment Used
Please note that these are affiliate links & I may make a small commission if you make a purchase using these links, at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.
More Christmas Recipes To Try!
- Christmas Rocky Road
- Deep Fried Mince Pies
- Pear & Almond Crumble Mince Pies
- Baileys Gingerbread Loaf Cake
- Filo Mince Pies With Almond Streusel
- Baileys Basque Cheesecake
- Mince Pie Panettone Treacle Tart
Watch How To Make Homemade Mince Pies
If you have enjoyed this classic mince pie recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating. And if you’d like to stay up to date with future recipes, follow us on Instagram & TikTok or subscribe to our newsletter!
Classic Mince Pies
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry Brush
- 12 Hole Muffin Tray
- Palette Knife
- Round Pastry Cutters 9.5cm & 7.5cm
Ingredients
Sweet Pastry
- 350 g Plain Flour
- 100 g Icing Sugar
- ½ tsp Table Salt
- 1 Orange (Zested)
- 200 g Unsalted Butter (Chilled)
- 40 g Egg Yolks
- 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
Filling
- 600 g Mincemeat (See Notes)
Assembly
- 15 g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Milk
- 1 tbsp Demerara Sugar
Instructions
Sweet Pastry
- Sift the flour & icing sugar into a large mixing bowl then add in the salt & orange zest.
- Cut the butter into small pieces, add into the flour, then rub in with your fingers until the mix resembles breadcrumbs with some large pieces of butter still visible.
- Add the egg yolks & vanilla paste into the flour then mix with your hands until the pastry starts to come together. Tip out onto a clean worksurface & gently knead until you have a smooth dough (be careful not to overwork).
- Flatten the pastry into a disc, wrap in clingfilm & refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Assembly
- Take the pastry out of the fridge & leave to warm up slightly at room temperature for 20 minutes.This makes the pastry more pliable.
- In the meantime, make an egg wash by whisking together the egg & milk.
- Grease a 12 hole muffin tray with the butter & set aside.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 3 mm then cut out 12 circles using a 9½ cm cutter & another 12 with the 7½ cutter.Gently knead together the pastry trimmings & re roll if necessary.The larger pastry circles are for the bases & the smaller ones are the lids.
- Gently press the larger circles of pastry into the muffin tray, making sure that the pastry reaches the top of each hole.
- Spoon an equal amount of filling into each mince pie then brush a light layer of egg wash around the pastry's top edge.Each pie is filled with 50 grams of mincemeat.
- Place a pastry lid onto the top of each pie then press down to seal. Cut a small hole in the top of each pie then chill in the fridge for at least an hour before baking.
Baking
- Preheat an oven to 220°c/200°c (428°f/392°f). Place a large, flat baking tray into the oven at the same time, to heat up.We'll be baking the pies on top of the tray, to help crisp up the bottoms.
- Next, brush the top of the mince pies with a light layer of egg wash then chill in the fridge until the oven is up to temperature (20 minutes or so).Make sure to give the oven plenty of time to heat up, so that the pastry cooks properly!
- Take the mince pies out of the fridge & brush on another light layer of egg wash. Sprinkle a generous amount of demerara sugar on top of each pie.
- To cook, place the muffin tin of pies onto the preheated tray then bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is crisp & a deep golden brown.I like to bake the pastry fairly dark, so that the sugar caramelises nicely. This gives the mince pies a crunchy top!
- Once the mince pies are cooked, carefully run the tip of a palette knife around the lip of each one, to release the pastry from the tin. This is to release the pastry from where it touches the top of the tray.
- Let the mince pies cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes then lift them out with a small palette knife & transfer to a wire cooling rack, to cool completely.
