Fruit mince pies

Nothing beats the smell and taste of freshly baked fruit Christmas mince pies, straight from the oven.

Mince pies are made from minced fruit, which you can buy at a  supermarket, but you can make your own homemade fruit mince, which tastes much nicer.

Makes 12 fruit mince pies.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour (plain or high grade)
  • ¼ cup (60 gram) butter
  • 1 tablespoon caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cornflour
  • 1 egg
  • Water
  • 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
  • Aproximately ¾ cup fruit mince
  • Icing sugar

Method

  1. Process flour, butter, sugar and cornflour in a food processor for 20 seconds or until crumbly.
  2. Add egg and process for about 20 seconds. If necessary, slowly add a little bit of water while processing, until the mixture comes together.
  3. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until smooth.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
  5. To assemble, roll pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until it is 3 mm thick.
  6. Cut into circles using a 65 mm round cutter. Place circles in greased shallow patty tins.
  7. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons of mince filling onto each base.
  8. Sprinkle sliced almonds over mince.
  9. Form pastry trimmings into a new ball and roll to 3 mm thickness.
  10. Cut star shapes (50 mm diameter) to decorate the pies.
  11. Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven at 180ºC for 10 to 15 minutes.
  12. Dust with icing sugar, using a fine sieve.

Notes

For a richer pastry, increase the butter to 100 gram, but use the egg's yolk only instead of the whole egg.