As we begin to ramp up for Christmas, we're all starting to think about food! As well as family, friends and singing very loudly to cheesy Christmas music, food is one of the most important parts of Christmas.
So we have come up with a 'Getting ready for Christmas' blog that covers some fundamental foods that make Christmas, Christmas.
The one and only Mince Pie -
Now we know that the classic mince pies are not everyone's cup of tea, so we've got some variants to cater to everyone's taste.
Here is our tried and tested flexible family recipe. So, pop on some Christmas tunes and let's get baking!
Ingredients -
Pastry
375g Plain Flour or Free From Plain Flour
260g Unsalted Butter or Dairy Free Butter
125g Caster Suger
1 Large Egg or 20ml of Water
Mince Meat
1kg Mince Meat or any filling you prefer like jam or Nutella etc
Equipment -
Scales
Cling film or bees wax wraps
Big bowl
Rolling pin
Round pastry cutters (one medium and one small)
Cup cake tins
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C, weigh out all of your ingredients and butter the cup cake tins
2. Rub together the plain flour and butter until they look like breadcrumbs
3. Then add the sugar and the egg until the pastry comes together, then stop! Tip: You don't want to overwork the pastry.
4. Wrap it in either cling film or bee wax wrap and chill in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes. (Which leave enough time to pop the kettle on for a cuppa and have a Christmas boogie🕺)
5. Then sprinkle a good amount of flour onto your work surface and roll out the pastry until about 3mm thick.
6. Then cut out 12 discs with medium pastry cutters, and place them in the cupcake tin.
7. Now open your jar mince, Nutella or jam and scoop in a good amount in each case.
8. Then cut out 12 discs with the small pastry cutter and place them on top. (If you fancy you can always create a fancy pattern with a fork or with the leftover pastry - holly leaves, snowmen and the like!)
9. Then once with are decorated to your liking, pop them in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown.
While they're still deliciously warm, make your favourite cuppa/mulled wine and eat at least 3!
We hope you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to catch next weeks!