Mince Pie

English·Medium·30 min

Small sweet pastry tarts filled with mincemeat, a dark spiced mixture of dried fruit, suet, citrus and brandy. Dusted with sugar and eaten warm, they are the edible heart of a British Christmas.

Egg

Descended from medieval meat-filled 'sweet pies'; the all-fruit mince pie became fixed in the late Victorian era. An estimated 175 million were eaten in the UK in 2025. 'Mince pie'.

The pastry crumbles into the warm, jammy filling, which floods the mouth with raisins, candied peel, cinnamon and a boozy hit of brandy. Sweet, sticky and deeply spiced, one bite tastes unmistakably of Christmas.

Chilling the high-fat shortcrust keeps the pastry tender and short, while the sugar, brandy and suet in the mincemeat preserve and macerate the dried fruit into a soft, glossy filling.

Variations

Star-topped, latticed, frangipane-topped, with brandy butter, puff-pastry versions, vegetarian with vegetable suet

On the Palate

Where Mince Pie sits in the British flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 12

How it's made

8 steps · 30 min

1
12 min
Rub cold butter into flour with a pinch of sugar until it resembles breadcrumbs, then bring together into a dough and chill.
Watch out
Rub in the cold butter just to breadcrumbs and chill the dough hard — warm, overworked pastry bakes tough instead of short and crumbly.
2
3 min
Stir brandy and a little orange zest through a jar of good mincemeat.
3
6 min
Roll the pastry thin and stamp out larger rounds for bases and smaller rounds or stars for lids.
4
4 min
Press the bases into a buttered bun tin and spoon in the mincemeat.
5
5 min
Top each with a lid or star, sealing the edges, and brush with beaten egg or milk.
Watch out
Pinch the lid onto the base all the way round so the bubbling filling can't leak — a broken seal welds the pie to the tin.
6
20 min
Bake at 200C until the pastry is golden and crisp.
Watch out
Bake until the pastry is an even golden brown and crisp — pale pastry stays raw and doughy in the middle.
7
4 min
Cool in the tin for a few minutes so the filling sets, then lift out.
Watch out
Let them cool a few minutes in the tin so the filling sets — lift a hot pie and the molten mincemeat runs everywhere.
8
2 min
Dust generously with icing sugar and serve warm with brandy butter or cream.