The one essential Christmas cooking recipe you absolutely have to know is how to make mince pies. There's no passing off shop bought as home made, you have to do it with your own fair hands. This classic mince pie recipe is practically foolproof and ideal for experience or novice pie makers.
Mincemeat filling for your mince pie recipe
225g suet
225g Bramley apples
125g candied peel
225 each sultanas, raisins and currants
175g demerara sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice
Zest and juice of one orange
60ml brandy
Peel, core and chop the apples and chop the candied peel. Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and stir together thoroughly until well combined. Pack the mincemeat into clean, sterilised jars and seal, then store in a cool, dark place for at least three weeks to allow the flavours to develop before using.
Classic mince pie recipe
350g home made mincemeat
200g plain flour
40g golden caster sugar
75g ground almonds
125g unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg, beaten
A little milk for glazing
Grease a 12 hole pie tin.
Sift the flour and add to a food processor with the butter, sugar and ground almonds. Whizz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs then gradually add the beaten egg (You can make the pastry by hand but it's quicker, easier and just as effective in a food processor!). Use your hands to bring the pastry together into a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for about an hour to rest before you use it.
Roll out the pastry thinly on a floured work surface and use the appropriate size of fluted edge cutter to make 12 discs to fit your pie tin. Press a disc gently into each hole and spoon in mincemeat to reach just below the top.
Cut out 12 disc lids to make the pie lids and press gently into place. Make a small steam hole in each pie lid and glaze with milk. Allow to chill for about half an hour while you preheat the oven to 200C. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops of the pies are golden brown. Cool for a while on a wire rack and serve warm with cream or ice cream.
The pies freeze well or keep for up to a week in an airtight container.
Once you've mastered how to make mince pies to a classic recipe, you can start to bling them up with cranberry mincemeat, for example or a meringue topping, but make sure you've got the basics safely under your belt first!
