Making Fruit Mince Pies is something I love to do each Christmas but I need to set a good chunk of time aside to do it. This is because I make lots of them and share them with family and friends. One year Andrew had to take a gift of $10-$15 value to work and we bought a nice plate and filled it with Mince Pies and Rum Balls for him to take as the gift. It was a very much appreciated gift – much better that the plastic back-scratcher he ended up with!!

The pastry recipe for the Fruit Mince Pies is a very versatile one. It was given to me by an Auntie in the form of a letter. The letter explained that the pastry dough  could be used to make a whole range of biscuits and tarts with just a few variations to the mix. But today I will share the pastry method for Fruit Mince pies.

If you have a sweet shortcrust pastry recipe and you are happy with it then please use it. If you are really stuck for time, use the frozen pastry option.

What you will need:

Pastry

225 grams each of Butter and Sugar

Vanilla 

340 grams Plain Flour

120 grams Self Raising Flour

120 grams Custard Powder

2 eggs

Extra Egg and Milk for wash

Extra Sugar for decoration

Fruit Mince

Approximately 2 1/2 jars Fruit Mince.

Note: You will need a few Small Pie trays and Pastry Cutters.

Method:

Pastry

Cream the butter and sugar

Add vanilla and mix in well

Add eggs one by one, mixing between each addition

Mix all flours together and add to the mixture in thirds, mixing well after each addition.

You may need some extra flour to make a firm dough. I usually add more Plain Flour for this. 

Place in a bowl or wrap in a silicone mat. 

Place in refrigerator for at least an hour. 

The Pies

Take a fist full of pastry and roll out between two sheets of baking paper until the pastry is a few mm thick. Cut out rounds for the bottom and top of the pie. To make the pies look more interesting I use Christmas shapes to cut out the tops. This also saves some pastry because the shapes don’t need to fully cover the pie. 

Grease the small pie tins and place a larger round in each section. 

Fill with the Fruit Mince and place the smaller round or shape on top. 

Brush over with the beaten egg/milk wash. Sprinkle over with some sugar. 

Cook in a moderate oven (180 C) for about 20 minutes. 

Loosen the pies carefully but do not remove from the tins. Remove them when they have cooled i.e. after about 20 minutes. 

Enjoy – but don’t burn your tongue!

What Next?

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Until next time,

Gillian (and Andrew)