Nothing says Christmas like mince pies so how could we possibly resist including this perfect recipe for deep-filled mince pies from Cornwall’s very own chef Mike Darracott?
Ingredients
2 x 411g jars of sweet mincemeat
300g sifted plain flour
90g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
140g butter or margarine
2 small eggs
4 drops vanilla essence
2 tsp granulated sugar for topping off
3 tbs of icing sugar for decoration
Preheat your oven to 220c/428f
Serves 12 people
Cream together the sugar, egg, and vanilla essence
Blend in the butter/margarine
Slowly add sifted flour and mix well
Cover with cling film
Chill in the fridge for about 15 – 20 minutes
Take your mixture out of the fridge and divide it into two pieces (put the other half back in the fridge)
Grease a 12 holed deep pie tray
Roll out the paste and cut out your 12 pie bases to place in your greased tray
Add mincemeat to each pie
Take out your other half of sugar paste from the fridge, roll it out and cut 12 tops for your pies
(If you have any pastry left, you could make some simple leaf shapes to decorate)
Place in the oven and bake for around 10 – 15 minutes
Once golden brown (and smelling delicious), sprinkle some icing sugar on top of each pie and serve (with clotted cream, of course)
Enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas, from chef Mike Darracott.
PBM: If you’d like a printed recipe, so you can have it on hand in the kitchen while you create heavenly pies, we’ve got you covered. Download and print a PDF of the deep-filled mince pie recipe here.
PS And if this recipe adds some sparkle to your Christmas this year, you might want to check out buy Mike’s cookbook ‘Cook like Mum‘ here, which is packed with more delicious mouth-watering treats.