Hello

 

 

 

This is the recipe for my mother's mince pies, which are, with out any doubt at all, the BEST MINCE PIES IN THE WORLD!

Ingredients
12oz self raising flour
5oz butter
1oz lard
1tsp caster sugar
2 egg yolks
Ice cold water
Pinch of salt
Milk for brushing
Mincemeat - with added brandy if you like!  (My mother swears by Robinson's)


Preheat your oven to 180C.  Sieve the flour and caster sugar into a mixing bowl.  Add the pinch of salt.  Chop the butter and lard into small chunks (1 or 2cm square-ish) and rub in until the mixture is like breadcrumbs.   Make a well in the middle and put the egg yolks in.   Add a small amount of the cold water - approximately 2 tablespoons in total.   Bring the mixture together and roll out to about 1/4".   This is very short pastry so it will be fairly crumbly when you roll it out.   Grease your pastry tin.   Choose pastry cutters to fit with one slightly larger than the other.   Cut equal numbers of the two sizes of pastry and line the pie tins with the larger of the two.   Fill each pie with approximately 1tsp of mincemeat.   Wet your finger and run around the rim of the pastry case and then pop the smaller one on top and seal it.   Prick the top of each mince pie with gently with a fork and then brush the top of each pie with milk.  

Bake at 180C for 10-12 minutes until golden.