It wouldn’t be Christmas without mince pies, and AVOCA’s are some of the most sought after (if we do say so ourselves!). Impress your guests and fill your home with that wonderful rich smell by whipping up a fresh batch of homemade mince pies of your own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes 9

Ingredients

275g unsalted butter, cubed

450g plain flour

75g ground almonds

50g icing sugar

2 egg yolks

20-30ml milk to bind

 

For the mincemeat

2 apples, grated

Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

450g vegetarian suet

110g mixed peel

2 tablespoons marmalade

225g currants

450g raisins

225g sultanas

900g dark brown sugar

125ml whiskey

 

Method

  1. The mincemeat should be made at least the day before. To do this, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Stir well, cover with a cloth and set aside overnight.
  2. Combine the flour, almonds and sugar. Rub in the butter so the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolks. Stir gently, adding enough milk to form a dough. Cover with cling film and refrigerate.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200°c/ gas mark 6. Roll out the pastry to about 13mm thick and cut nine 7.5cm rounds using a pastry cutter. Roll up the scraps with the remaining pastry, roll out again and cut nine 6cm circles. You can then cut or decorate them to pop on the top of your mince pies, think stars or Christmas trees.
  4. Grease the mince pie tins well and gently line them with the larger circles. Fill with mincemeat so they are just full. Dampen the edges with water and top with the smaller disks, then firmly pinch them to seal. For any that don’t have holes in snip with a scissors to allow the air to escape during baking.
  5. Brush lightly with milk and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.