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Prep: 25  Cook: 20

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Ingredients
12 oz/350g all purpose/plain flour
Pinch of salt
8oz/ 225g butter, cubed or an equal mix of butter and lard
1 beaten egg + 1 cold water as needed
1 jar of mincemeat, shop bought or home made
2 tbsp icing sugar

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Method
Heat the oven to 400°F/205°C/Gas 6

Make the Pastry
Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
Add the egg to the mixture and using a cold knife stir, add cold water a teaspoon at a time until the mixture binds but don't make it too wet that it is sticky.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.

Assemble the Pies
Choose a muffin or bun tin for the size of the pie you want. Choose from a standard 12-cup muffin tin down to small canapé size. The number of pies will depend on the size of cup you choose.
Dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out two-thirds of the pastry to 1/8"/3mm thick. Cut circles to line the cups of your tin, don't worry if the pastry doesn't come to the top.
Fill the pastry lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat.
Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness and cut smaller circles to fit as lids on the tarts or to be decorative, cut stars or other fancy shapes.
Dampen the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole in the surface of each pie with a small sharp knife to allow the steam to escape.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins (15 mins if making canape size) or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the icing sugar.

Mince pies are delicious served hot or cold on their own or with Brandy Butter. They will keep well if placed in an airtight tin - up to seven days. Sometimes they benefit from a gentle warming in the oven before serving.

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