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    Home » British Recipes

    Mince Pies

    Published: Dec 7, 2020 · by Elizabeth Waterson · This post may contain affiliate links, which may pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Confessions of a Baking Queen!

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    Jump to Recipe
    mince pies on a plate on a christmas napkin with christmas berries and a cracker in the background

    These traditional English sweet pies are served at Christmas time. Filled with mincemeat filling which is full of dried fruits and spices. These are perfect with a cup of tea or served with a heavy pouring of cream. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this gorgeous mince pie recipe.

    miince pies on a plate on a christmas napkin with christmas berries and a cracker in the background

    Growing up mince pies were always a staple at my house, I enjoyed them when I was really little, and then I decided I hated raisins so I couldn't be bothered with mince pies. It wasn't until my 20's that I fell back in love with mince pies. It might have been something to do with pouring a ton of heavy cream on them or the warm melt in your mouth pastry. Either way these days I can't wait for Christmas time so I can stuff my face with mince pies.

    Mince pies are ridiculously easy to make, part of their beauty. This is also why they are great for serving Father Christmas on Christmas eve. In America, we serve cookies to Santa but in England, we serve mince pies to Father Christmas.

    half eaten mince pies on top of each other on a stack of white plates with a christmas cracker in the background on a light grey surface

    Let's get to the recipe

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • How to freeze
    • Can you double
    • More Christmas recipes
    • Recipe Card
    • Recipe Ratings & Comments

    Ingredients

    To make mince pies you really only need two things mincemeat and pastry.

    For the pastry you have a few options you can use your favorite pastry recipe, my sweet shortcrust pastry recipe, my all butter pie crust recipe, or my flaky pie crust recipe, or of course you can totally use store-bought pastry dough.

    To make mini tart size mince pies you'll get about 12-14 from one standard 9-inch pie crust. For a standard American size cupcake pan size mince pies, a standard 9-inch pie crust will make 9-10. Keep in mind mini tarts will be a lot more pastry to filling ratio, whereas cupcake size ones will have more filling to pastry.

    hand holding a half eaten mince pie

    For the mincemeat, you can buy mincemeat filling at select food stores during the Christmas season. Or you can make your own mincemeat filling, which I highly recommend! It's full of delicious warm cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, mixed spice, lemon and fruit.

    Homemade mincemeat is best made a couple of weeks before you want to use it, but you can use it right away. Mincemeat is easy to make you pretty much just dump everything into a large pot, stir, warm it slightly then plop into jars.

    jar of mincemeat on a Christmas linen on a grey background

    Instructions

    Keep in mind depending on the size of your pan the amount of ingredients, measurements, and bake time will alter. I have provided information for the mini tart pan and a standard American cupcake pan.

    Preheat the oven to 425F/218C and get your pan out. Your oven needs to be properly heated for the pastry to cook up to golden brown pastry perfection.

    To start I used one standard 9-inch pie crust, you can use homemade or store-bought. But I highly suggest homemade!

    Start by rolling your pie dough on a lightly floured surface, gently rotate the dough after every couple of rolls so the dough does not get stuck into the work surface.

    Roll your pie dough out into a 15-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Brush off any excess flour.

    Use a round or round with a scalloped edge pastry cutter to cut pastry circles that will fit into the bottom of your baking tin. The mini tart pan I use comes with a pastry cutter and piece of equipment to press the pastry nicely into the tart cavities.

    round cutter cutting out shapes from pie dough on a silpat work surface on a light grey surface

    Sometimes a water glass has the right circumference as well! 

    hand holding a plastic holder pressing pastry into tart tin

    Gently press one pastry round into each cavity then spoon the mixture in, if you are using a tart tin, generally more shallow, then you will need about 1- ½ teaspoons of filling. For a cupcake pan, the cavities are deeper so you can use around 1 heaping Tablespoon per pastry case. 

    close up of mincemeat filling added to pie crust in a tart pan on a light grey surface

    You can top the mincemeat filling with another pastry round or use a star cutter to top the pies with a star lid. Dip your finger in a small bowl of room temperature water and gently use your finger to wet the pastry side down, this will help seal it to the bottom pastry already in the muffin tin.

    hand spreading water on bottom of pastry round before going on top of a mince pie on a light grey surface with a bowl of water

    Use your clean fingernail to gently press the top pastry into the bottom pastry to seal it. 

    hand pressing pastry dough into the bottom in a tart tin on a light grey surface

    Place the tray in the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes to chill the pastry, this helps it bake up flaky and prevent shrinking while baking.

    pastry brush spreading egg wash on top of mince pies before baking sitting on a light grey surface with a bowl of egg wash

    Crack an egg into a small bowl and add a splash of water, then whisk to combine. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the mince pies with the egg wash.

    Bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of your baking pan. I find the smaller tart size pies take 10-13 minutes while the cupcake size ones take 14-18 minutes, you want golden brown!

    cupcake size mince pies being made

    Let the pies cool for 10 minutes then use an angled spatula to Let the pies cool for 10 minutes then use an angled spatula to remove them gently from the tin in and let cool completely on a wire rack. Then give them a generous sprinkle of icing sugar / confectioners sugar.

    powdered sugar on to mince pies on a wire rack on a light grey surface

    Try not to each just one, I dare you! If you're feeling really wild serve them with some homemade brandy butter or ice cream!

    mince pies on a plate next to Christmas crackers and a cup of coffee on a light grey surface

    How to freeze

    To freeze the pies before baking prepare them up to placing the tops on, no egg wash, then place the tray in the freezer for 20 minutes, then use an angled spatula to gently remove the mince pies from the pan. Ideally, you would place the mince pies on a tray and freeze until completely solid then place them in a freezer-safe container. Freezing the pies before placing them into a container prevents the pies from sticking to each other so you can bake off one pie at a time. When baking the pies just add an additional minute or two to the bake time.

    Can you double

    You can easily double or triple the recipe by pressing the 2X or 3X button on the recipe card. Make sure during baking batches that you keep the pastry cold and you add them to a cold pan, a warm pan will affect the way the pastry bakes and ruin your pies, trust me, take the extra time or use multiple pans.

    More Christmas recipes

    During Christmas time I love to make my Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe.

    You can't celebrate Christmas without some gingerbread treats, my Gingerbread Cheesecake is the perfect show stopper dessert!!

    My friend Hayley makes the best fudge, this White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge is divine!!

    half eaten mince pie on top of each other on a stack of white plates with christmas props on a light grey background

    ★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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    Recipe Card

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    mince pies on a plate on a christmas napkin with christmas berries and a cracker in the background

    Mince Pies Recipe

    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 review

    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    These traditional English sweet pies are served at Christmas time. Filled with mincemeat filling which is full of dried fruits and spices. These are perfect with a cup of tea or served with a heavy pouring of cream. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this gorgeous mince pie recipe.

    • Total Time: 33 minutes
    • Yield: 12-14 Mince Pies 1x

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 6oz-10oz Homemade Mincemeat or Store-bought
    • 1-9-inch Pie Crust Homemade, Sweet Shortcrust Pastry or Store-bought or
    • Water to bind the crust
    • Egg
    • Confectioners Sugar

    Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven t0 425F/218C and get your pan out, you can use a mini tart pan or cupcake tin. 
    2. On a lightly floured work surface using a rolling pin roll your pie dough out into a 15-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Use a round or round with a scalloped edge pastry cutter to cut pastry circles that will fit into the bottom of your baking tin. Sometimes a water glass has the right circumference as well! 
    3. Gently press one pastry round into each cavity then spoon the filling in, if you are using a tart tin, generally more shallow, then you will need about 1- ½ Teaspoons of filling. For a cupcake pan, the cavities are deeper so you can use around 1 Tablespoon per cavity. 
    4. You can top the mincemeat filling with another pastry round or use a star cutter to top the pies with a star. Dip your finger in a small bowl of room temperature water and gently use your finger to wet the pastry side down, this will help seal it to the bottom pastry already in the muffin tin. Use your clean fingernail to gently press the top pastry into the bottom pastry to seal it. 
    5. Place the tray in the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes to rechill the pastry, this helps it bake up flaky and prevent shrinking while baking.
    6. Crack an egg into a small bowl and add a splash of water, then whisk to combine. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the pastries with the egg wash. 2
    7. Bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of your baking pan. I find the smaller tart size pies take 10-13 minutes while the cupcake size ones take 14-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the pies cool on a wire rack for ten minutes then use an angled spatula to gently remove and dust them with a shower of confectioners sugar. 

    Equipment

    mini tart pan

    Mini Tart Pan

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    silicone pastry brush

    Pastry Brush

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    angled spatula

    Angled Spatula

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    oxo food scale

    OXO Kitchen Scale

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    Notes

    To freeze the pies before baking prepare them up to placing the tops on, no egg wash, then place the tray in the freezer for 20 minutes, then use an angled spatula to gently remove the mince pies from the pan. Ideally, you would place the mince pies on a tray and freeze until completely solid then place them in a freezer-safe container. Freezing the pies before placing them into a container prevents the pies from sticking to each other so you can bake off one pie at a time. When baking the pies just add an additional minute or two to the bake time.

    • Author: Elizabeth Waterson
    • Prep Time: 15
    • Cook Time: 18
    • Category: Dessert
    • Method: Bake
    • Cuisine: British

    Keywords: mince pie recipe, the best mince pies, traditional mince pie recipe

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @confessionsofabakingqueen on Instagram and hashtag it #cbqbakes

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    1. Sarah Jackson says

      December 08, 2021 at 10:04 am

      This isn't really a recipe for anything

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        December 08, 2021 at 11:03 am

        Hi Sarah, sorry you feel that way. There is a recipe included for both homemade mincemeat and pastry so to me it sure feels like a recipe. Merry Christmas! XX Liz

        Reply
        • Barbara Kingery says

          December 28, 2021 at 5:02 pm

          All I see is the instructions. I want to see the ingredients and amounts.

          Reply
          • Elizabeth Waterson says

            December 29, 2021 at 7:34 pm

            Hi Barbara, sorry for the confusion- since there are so many variants like what size pan you use it kind of ranges. I added a rough estimate,6-8oz, of mincemeat filling you'll need for 1-9inch pie crust. Also, some people like lots of filling others like more pastry to filling, so personal preference on how much mincemeat you use! I talk about using the mini tart pan for less filling to crust ratio and the cupcake size tin for more filling. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you try would love to know what you think! XX Liz

            Reply
    2. Diane Schmidt says

      November 23, 2022 at 9:19 am

      How do you store these after they are baked? Know my daughter will love these.

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        November 25, 2022 at 11:00 am

        Hi Diane, I would keep it in a cool environment, since I live in Southern California it can be quite warm so I store it in the fridge if it's not a cold day. Good luck baking and report back how you like them XX Liz

        Reply
        • Diane Schmidt says

          December 20, 2022 at 4:39 am

          Just letting you know my daughter loved these. She said its some of the best she has had. Merry Christmas

          ★★★★★

          Reply
          • Elizabeth Waterson says

            December 20, 2022 at 10:50 am

            Thank you so much for reporting back Diane! I am so pleased that you and your family enjoyed them! I hope you have a lovely Christmas. XX Liz

            Reply

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    Hiya! I am Elizabeth Waterson, welcome to my treat-filled site. After spending 15 years in the restaurant industry and growing up baking, I wanted to share my love of baking with you all. My step-by-step tutorials will help you learn how to bake at home. Confessions of a Baking Queen (CBQ) has been featured in CBS LA, HuffPost Taste, BuzzFeed, Taste of Home, and more! Here you will find loads of sweet recipes with a few savory ones for good measure. Feel free to message me with any questions! Happy Baking! 

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