Mini Mince Pies

Terribly late for a Christmas recipe I know but maybe something to keep in mind for the next one. I have been making them for two years running and they are so easy to whizz up in the processor. I ended up making 120 of them for family who asked me for them, if that isn't a recommendation I don't know what is! The recipe is from Waitrose and originally is meant to have lemon icing on the top. They are very nice that way but don't tend to store well so I decided to put a little lid on them instead. I hadn't got a cutter the right size and ended up using a camera film case. The lids don't need to be as thick as the main pastry shell and they do take a little longer to bake than the open ones. There is no need to press the patry into the tins completely, just position the edges to the top of the hole in the tin, once the mincemeat is in and they are baking the heat will push the case down to the bottom and there is less risk of it leaking.

Mini Mince Pies with (or without!) Lemon icing
Makes 36 or 24 with lids

Preparation time 20 minutes, plus 30 minutes chilling

200g plain flour
100g cold butter, cubed
25g ground almonds
50g icing sugar
1 egg, beaten (I use medium size)
410g jar of mincemeat (I use about half per 24 pies)

For the icing
8tbsp icing sugar
Zest and rind of 1 lemon.

Place the flour, butter, ground almonds, icing sugar and egg in a processor and whizz until it forms a ball. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead slightly. Wrap in clingfilm and put it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to Gas 6/Fan oven 190c/electric oven 200c. Roll out half the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use a 6cm cutter to cut out 24-36 rounds (if making with lids use the remaining pastry rolled out more thinly to cut out smaller rounds) Then place each round in a section of a mini muffin tin. Add a small teaspoon of mincemeat to the middle (remember they sink a bit while cooking)

Bake until they are just beginning to brown (10-12 minutes. 15 minutes for ones with lids) Cool in tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. If your mincemeat has leaked you will need to get them out before it dries too much and they stick. Allow to cool completely.

For the icing, mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make a thick paste and drizzle over the top and add the lemon zest.