Christmas Mince Pies

Too much going on. Difficult to concentrate. Wondering whether son is going to be able to fly out of Heathrow on Thursday or not. So many people’s journeys disrupted. And if he doesn’t manage it, shall we postpone Christmas?

But before anything further develops, I do want to quickly share my mince pies with you. They’re easy to make and quite delicious. Well, we think so. In my experience, Turks aren’t as mad on them as we are but we carry on regardless.

This December consternation  reigned in Istanbul at least amongst all of us as our source of homemade mincemeat had dried up. Our Corona group usually makes a wonderful selection of Christmas goodies including cakes , puddings, and the aforesaid mincemeat but for a variety of reasons, this year Corona  collapsed. Of course one could make these things oneself but it was always part of the IWI Christmas Bazaar experience to fight your way through to the Corona tables and then retire triumphant with your booty. In the past my mother used to fly to Istanbul with her homemade Christmas cake on her lap while I would concentrate on the pudding and mince pies.

But I was all right. I discovered a huge jar of Corona mincemeat left over from last year. The stuff seems to be indestructible.

Now, this is the only time of the year that I deviate from my basic pastry recipe . Instead I go Cordon Bleu as this particular recipe really is melt-in-your-mouth. Here it is:

Ingredients for rich shortcrust pastry

Makes about 18 pies (using about 1 ½ lb/675g mincemeat)

8oz /225g plain flour

Pinch of salt

6oz/175g butter

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

2-3 tbsp cold water

Method

§  Sift the flour with the pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl. Rub the pieces into the flour until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, mix egg yolk with water, and tip into the flour mixture. Mix quickly to a firm dough.

§  Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly till smooth. If possible,chill in fridge (wrapped in clingfilm or foil) for 30 mins before use.

§  Set oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the pastry fairly thinly, and stamp into rounds the size of your patty tins with a cutter.

§  Place your rounds in the tin and fill each with a good spoonful of mincemeat.  Roll out the rest of the pastry and cut into star shapes for the tops. Place gently on top of each mince pie and press down.

§  Brush lightly with cold water, dust with granulated/caster sugar.

§  Cook for 15 – 20 mins till nicely brown. Cool slightly before removing from tins.  Some people like to sift additional icing sugar over them for effect.

Tips

1.    The original recipe from  Party Cooking, one volume in the 5-volume Cordon Bleu set dating back to 1970 and the foundation of my cookery library, included 1oz/75g ‘shortening or lard’. I have no idea what lard is but shortening is butter so I have simply increased the given amount from 5 to 6oz or 175g. I have done this every Christmas for the last 25 odd years so don’t worry, it is just fine.

2.    Ever since I saw a picture in a magazine of mince pies with stars on top instead of the simple round, I have been doing it this way. Prettier I think, and less pastry.

3.    If by any chance your mincemeat is a bit dry , the remedy is easy: add 1- 2 tbsp brandy, rum, or sherry! This often happens if, like mine, it is from a previous year.

Merry Christmas from me in Istanbul!