In England, a Christmas without Mince Pies is no Christmas at all! Just like the traditional Christmas Pudding, mince pie has been a part of British Christmas festivities since long. The first time I tasted a mince pie was at Lincoln Christmas Market. It was my first traditional Christmas market experience and, I would say, a major highlight of my student days in England!
Another Christmas classic is mulled wine. A book, some good music and a mug of mulled wine – perfect way to wind down on cold winter nights, whether it’s Christmas time or not !If you are looking for holiday gifting ideas or eggless Christmas cookie recipes, you may like our Ragi / Finger Millet Gingerbread Cookies. I bake a batch every year!
Coming back to mince pies, they are tiny tart-like pastries with a filling called ‘mincemeat’. Hearing the name, I expected it to be a savoury meaty snack. The first bite, however, left me quite confused – it was sweet, fruity and boozy! Those of you who haven’t grown up having mincemeat may be puzzled (just as I was) about what it actually is. Though it sounds like meat is the main ingredient, it is not (atleast, not in today’s context). It is not the ‘minced meat’ or ‘ground meat’ that most of us are familiar with. Mincemeat is a traditional preserve of rich boozy chopped dried fruits and spices. In the olden times, however, meat (mutton) was a key ingredient.
Evolution of Mince Pies
Mince pie is believed to have originated in the medieval times for a combination of reasons – as a practical solution for preserving meat and as a religious symbol. When the Crusaders returned home from the Holy Land, they brought with them a variety of spices from the east. The medieval cooks used sugar and some of these spices to preserve meat in winter. They picked three spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) representing the three wise kings who brought gifts for Baby Jesus. In total, 13 ingredients were used to make the filling – the number representing Jesus and his 12 disciples. The pastry cases were made in oval shapes symbolising the manger in which Baby Jesus slept. The filled pies were topped, sometimes, with a pastry Baby Jesus.
Over the years, the pies became rounder and smaller. The pastry cases with mincemeat filling started being covered with pastry lids. It is not clearly known when and why the meat content in mince pies was reduced or eliminated altogether. Let’s just say, by the 20th century, the only traces of meat in most mince pies was ‘suet’ – the hard, saturated fat found around the loins and kidneys of animals. It is an important ingredient in many traditional British recipes and is also a highly sought-after fat used by pastry chefs. To make mince pies vegetarian-friendly, suet is sometimes substituted with vegetarian suet or frozen grated vegetable shortening or butter. The modern day mincemeat available in stores does’t contain meat, it sometimes doesn’t have alcohol either. Some brands use only vegetarian suet.
Development of my Mince Pie Recipe
When I first made mince pies, the curious foodie in me wanted to try adding meat, like in the medieval times. 🙂 So that is exactly what I did! I adapted Nigella’s recipe for the mincemeat – made it a bit meaty, slightly reduced the sweetness, and made a few other changes. I didn’t know where I could buy suet from. So, that part of the recipe is not ‘medieval’ enough ;p. My recipe doesn’t use suet. For the crust, I used store-bought puff pastry. Brandy or rum is the popular choice for alcohol in mincemeat. I have tried using whiskey in mincemeat and that wasn’t bad either.
Recipe variations (including vegetarian and non-alcoholic options)
I have tried making three versions of mince pie – with meat and booze, with booze but no meat, with neither booze nor meat. I personally prefer the ones with meat and booze the best.
Vegetarians can skip the meat, or add chopped mushrooms instead of meat. It is the closest meat-ish ingredient I can think of which would taste great in mince pies (This is my wild idea, haven’t come across that in recipes for mince pies).
For non-alcoholic mince pies, substitute the brandy / rum / whiskey with an equal amount of orange / apple juice.
Can we freeze the mince pies?
The baked pies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Pop them into the oven at 120 degree Celsius for around 3 minutes before serving.
Mince Pies – Santa luuuvs ’em!
Many of us are familiar with the tradition of leaving cookies and milk out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. But, something many of us DON’T know is that many kids in Britain, instead, leave mince pies with brandy for Santa, along with carrot for reindeer. Now, that sure is a treat Santa couldn’t possibly miss! Hic! 😉
Try adding British Mince Pies to your Christmas festivities this year! It can be served on its own or even better – with some brandy butter! Mmm.. yumm!!
Mince Pies Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For Mincemeat
- 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tsp Red Wine an inexpensive, sweet one
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Brown Sugar granulated – ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp
- 2 cups Cranberries
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 cup Raisins
- 1/4 cup Chopped Dried Fig
- Zest of half an Orange
- Juice of 1 Orange
- 1 tbsp Butter or less
- 1/2 cup Ground meat
- 1 1/2 tsp Red wine
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Chopped Almonds
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 3 tbsp Brandy / Rum / Whiskey
For Pastry
- Store-bought Rolled Puff Pastry
- Butter Just enough to grease the baking tray
- 1 Egg
For topping
- Powdered sugar optional
- Brandy butter optional
Instructions
Preparing Mincemeat
- Take brown sugar and ¼ cup of red wine in a large saucepan. Heat on low flame and stir gently till the sugar dissolves.
- Add cranberries, ground spices, raisins, chopped dried fig, orange zest and orange juice.
- Simmer and cook till the fruits break down and most of the liquid is reduced. (It took me 15 minutes for this.)
- Switch the flame off, and keep the pan covered.
- In a frying pan, take some butter, just enough to grease the pan. If you are using a non-stick frying pan, you can avoid using butter.
- Add the ground meat, salt and 1½ tsp of red wine to the frying pan. Heat it on low flame and saute till the meat looks cooked. Switch the flame off and keep aside.
- Now, take the sauce pan with the spiced fruit mixture. Squish the cranberries and other fruits using a potato masher or the back of a spoon.
- To the fruit mixture, add the cooked meat (along with any fat released), chopped almonds, honey and brandy / rum / whiskey.
- Mix well. The mincemeat is ready.
- Cool completely and transfer to sterilised jars. They can be stored in the fridge for a week.
Assembling & Baking the Pies
- Grease a muffin baking mould or a tartlet tin with butter.
- Lay a single sheet of rolled puff pastry flat on a board. Cut out circles from the pastry sheet. The circles should only be slightly wider than a single muffin / tartlet mould. Place these circles into the moulds.
- Poke holes on the pastry using a fork. This helps retain the shape while baking.
- Spoon a teaspoon of mincemeat into each.
- Next, cut out the pastry toppers. You can use cookie cutters for this. I used star-shaped ones.
- Place the pastry toppers on the mincemeat filled pies.
- Prepare an egg wash by beating a whole egg in a small bowl and brushing it onto the pastry topper and edges of the pie crust.
- Bake at 180 deg C for 10 minutes or till the pie toppers start browning.
- Remove from the oven. Take the tiny pies out of the baking tray and cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve on its own or with brandy butter.
Notes
- For vegetarian mince pies, just skip the meat. For a closer version of the meaty mince pies, substitute the meat with an equal amount of chopped mushrooms.
- For non-alcoholic mince pies, substitute the brandy / rum / whiskey with an equal amount of orange / apple juice.
Mincemeat Recipe adapted from Nigella’s Recipes.
This post was originally published on 22 Dec 2017 and updated on 01 Dec 2020.
Excellent presentation Viji.
Thaank you!! 🙂
These mince pies are really cute! Great recipe now with Christmas coming up soon:))
Thank you Shailaja! It’s one of our family favs for Christmas! 🙂
bite sized mince pie hell yas!!!
Oh yes! They’re the perfect size! With a dollop of brandy butter on each, they are sooo yummm!
We always had mince pies as a kid, but i have never tried to make them. You have inspired me to give it a try this year!
So happy I inspired you to try making them, Kristen!! Hope they take you back in time to Christmas days from your childhood! 🙂
I love mince pies but have never actually made them myself (my mother in law makes them every Christmas). I have also never had one with meat. I may make this one for a variation this year. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! Your mother-in-law must be a mince pie expert since she makes them every year, she may even have handy tips for the rest of us 🙂 Mince pies are so delicious, especially with some brandy butter! If you try making this variation, I’d love to hear how they turn out! 🙂
So fun! I love this take on the true traditional mince meat pie! Great spices, flavour and richness. Well done and thank you 🙂
Thanks a bunch Sabrina! 🙂 So glad you loved it!