Filo Mince Pies With Almond Streusel
These filo mince pies are incredibly flaky & topped with a nutty almond streusel. A lighter version of the Christmas classic!
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase using these links, at no extra cost you. For more information, click here.
If you like mince pies but fancy a lighter, flakier version, this is the recipe for you!
Here, we’re replacing the classic shortcrust pastry with four layers of crisp, filo pastry. This is then filled with a homemade, brown butter mincemeat & topped with nutty, almond streusel.
A delicious twist on the classic Christmas pie!
What Is Filo Pastry?
Also known a Phyllo, filo pastry is extremely thin & flaky and is often used in Middle Eastern cooking for pastries like baklava. Before baking, it is often brushed with melted butter & stacked in layers.
For this recipe, we are replacing the shortcrust pastry that you’d normally use for mince pies, with several layers of filo.
What You’ll Need
Filo Pastry
Filo pastry is available in most supermarkets & for this recipe, you’ll need roughly 6 sheets, to make 12 mince pies. Using ready made filo pastry makes life easier but feel free to make your own, if you’d prefer!
For this recipe, we are also brushing melted butter between each layer of filo.
Mincemeat
If you fancy making your own mincemeat, I’d recommend using my brown butter mincemeat recipe! If you go for a shop bought one, go for a high quality one for the best flavour. To make the pies vegetarian, make sure to use a mincemeat that contains vegetable suet.
Almond Streusel
Almond streusel is similar to a crumble topping & we’re making ours with plain flour, ground almonds, demerara sugar, butter, flaked almonds & a pinch of salt. This is made by hand & all you need to make this, is a mixing bowl & a set of scales.
Muffin Tray
To make these mince pies, you will need a 12 hole muffin tray that is roughly 2½ cm deep. A muffin tray like this is linked below! We’re also brushing our tray with melted butter which helps crisp the pastry up & means that they won’t stick.
How To Make Almond Streusel
To make the almond streusel, weigh the plain flour, ground almonds, demerara sugar & salt into a small mixing bowl then mix together. Add in chilled, diced butter then rub this into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Squeeze the mix together with your hands, to form larger clumps of streusel. If they are too big, break them up into slightly smaller pieces. Next, break up flaked almonds up into small pieces with your fingers them stir through the streusel.
Cold streusel bakes better, so before using it to top our mince pies, it needs to chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
How To Make Filo Mince Pies
The full, printable recipe card for these mince pies can be found at the bottom of this post!
For this recipe, you’ll need a 12 hole muffin tray that has been brushed with melted butter.
Step 1 – Line A Muffin Tray With Filo Pastry
First, take your filo pastry out of its’ packaging then transfer to a plate & cover with a damp tea towel.
Next, take a sheet of filo & cut it into 11cm wide squares. Depending on the size of your filo sheets, this could be 4, 6 or 8 squares. Don’t worry too much if the squares are slightly bigger or smaller than 11cm.
Take 4 filo squares & set the others aside. Lay a single square onto your worksurface then brush the top with melted butter. Lay another square on top at an angle then brush with more butter. Top with another filo square, brush with butter then top with a final square of pastry (but don’t brush this one with butter!).
Take your stack of pastry & press into the hole of a muffin tray.
Step 2 – Fill With Mincemeat
Spoon 2 teaspoons of mincemeat into the mince pie. The top of the mincemeat should sit just under the top of the tray.
Step 3 – Top With Streusel
Next, top the mince pie with a light sprinkling of chilled, almond streusel then fold the overhanging pastry so that it’s level with the sides of the muffin tray hole. Finally, brush the top of the pastry with melted butter.
Repeat the assembly process with the remaining mincemeat & pastry…
Because filo pastry tends to dry out quite quickly, I like to assemble the mince pies one at a time. If you work really quickly, you could line all the holes with pastry then fill them with mincemeat & streusel.
Step 4 – Bake
Bake the mince pies in a 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f) oven for 25-30 minutes, until the filo pastry is crisp & the streusel is golden brown. If the pastry looks like its’ getting too brown, cover the tray loosely with foil.
Step 5 – Cool & Dust
Once baked, leave the mince pies to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes then transfer them to a wire rack, to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar then serve.
Filo Mince Pie Tips & Tricks
- Make sure to cover any filo pastry with a damp tea towel whilst it’s not being used. This will stop it from drying out.
- Cold streusel cooks better so make sure to give it at least 20 minutes in the fridge before using.
- 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
The almond streusel can be made up to 3 days in advance. Make sure to store it in the fridge! It can also be stored in the freezer then defrosted in the fridge before using.
Once cooked & cooled down, the mince pies should be kept in an airtight container.
These mince pies are best eaten within 3 days of being made & should be kept in an airtight container.
Cooking Filo Mince Pies In An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas.
To cook the filo mince pies in an Aga, cook for 25-30 minutes in the baking oven on the second from bottom set of runners. If it looks like the pastry is browning too much, move the tray down a set of runners.
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 Recipes To Try!
- Classic Mince Pies
- Amaretto Frangipane Mince Pies
- Brown Butter Mincemeat
- Lemon & Almond Battenberg
- Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Brown Butter & Miso Treacle Tart
- Lemon Drizzle Bakewell Tart
If you have enjoyed this filo mince pie recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating!
Filo Mince Pies With Almond Streusel
Equipment
- Small Mixing Bowl
- 12 Hole Muffin Tray
- Pastry Brush
- Wire Cooling Rack
- Small Palette Knife
Ingredients
Almond Streusel
- 25 g Plain Flour
- 20 g Demerara Sugar
- 15 g Ground Almonds
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
- 20 g Unsalted Butter Chilled
- 10 g Flaked Almonds
Mince Pies
- 6 Sheets Filo Pastry See Notes
- 75 g Unsalted Butter
- 400 g Mincemeat See Notes
- 2 tsp Icing Sugar To Dust
Instructions
Almond Streusel
- Place the flour, sugar, ground almonds & salt into a small mixing bowl then mix together.
- Chop the butter into cubes then add into the flour.
- Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs then squeeze the mix together to form larger clumps.If the pieces are too big, break them up with your fingers.
- Next, break the flaked almonds into slightly pieces, using your fingertips then stir through the streusel.
- Chill the streusel in the fridge until ready to use.
Mince Pies
- Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
- Melt the butter (either in a microwave or in a pan on the stove) then transfer to a bowl & leave to cool slightly.
- Brush a 12 hole muffin tray with melted butter then set aside.
- Next, take a sheet of the filo pastry & cut it into 8 evenly sized squares.The squares of pastry should be roughly 11 cm wide. If you are using smaller sheets of filo, cut them into 4 squares. If they're larger sheets, cut them into 6 or 8.I like to use a pizza cutter to cut the filo but a sharp knife will work as well!
- Take 4 of the filo squares & set the others aside.Make sure to keep any unused filo pastry covered with a damp tea towel, to keep it from drying out.
- Lay a filo square onto your worksurface then brush the top with melted butter. Take another pastry square & lay on top, at a slight angle then brush with butter.See the post above for a visual guide…
- Lay another square on top, at an angle then brush with butter. Lay the final square of filo on top, at an angle but don't brush with butter.
- Press the stack of filo into one of the muffin tray holes then fill two teaspoons of mincemeat (the mincemeat should be just under the top of the tin).
- Add a light sprinkle of the cold streusel to the top of the mincemeat then fold over the overhanging filo pastry so that it's level with the muffin tray hole.
- Brush the top of the filo with melted butter then repeat the assembly process with the remaining pastry & mincemeat.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is crisp & the streusel is golden brown. If the pastry looks like its' getting too brown, cover the tray loosely with foil.
- Once cooked, let the mince pies cool in the tin for a couple of minutes then use a small palette knife to transfer them to a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely then dust with icing sugar & serve.
